AD Marco 09
- AD Marco 09 and SC São João de Ver will be desperate to grab the three points from this Sunday’s Liga 3 maintenance group clash as each side tries to avoid the axe in their respective seasons.
- The hosts are currently mid-table with four points, two points better off than the visitors who are in the relegation zone.
- Paulo Mendes is not an out-and-out possession coach, but rather likes to get men behind the ball in compact formations and look for the ball to be in the final third quickly.
- He does this by switching between a 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1 and his teams generally have moments of real solidity on the defensive and also moments of danger on set-pieces.
SC São João de Ver
- São João de Ver have lost four of their last five league games, failing to score in three of those matches.
- SC São João de Ver are much more of a negative team and will look to make life as difficult as possible for the hosts.
- Pedro Lomba is a disciplinarian and likes his teams to set up in a disciplined 4-3-3 with numbers behind the ball in the form of a low block.
- They will attempt to clog up the middle and look to counter-attack, rather than play possession.
Head-to-Head
- A slight head-to-head edge over São João de Ver since 2024 will give Marco hope, as they won 2-1 at home in December and then held two subsequent games to cagey 1-1 draws.
- None of the last three meetings in all competitions have seen more than one goal and the odds for fewer than 2.5 total goals at 1.57 look the play here.
- Marco 09’s Mauro Ribeiro was the scorer of the winner when these sides met in December.
Key Players
Players to watch:
- Joel Monteiro brings a bit of left-sided attacking spark, but captain Diogo Barbosa is the key to the way São João de Ver are set up.
- He is crucial to making the transition from midfield to defense and vice-versa, as well as maintaining the structure in the middle third.
- Mendes has slightly more in the locker, as Andrezinho can provide width, while Kibe is a real threat in the set-piece scenario.
- Marco’s captain, Manuel Pedro, will be a crucial figure as he is a good disciplinarian and leader in what will be a tight and tense matchup in dry and sunny conditions at the Estádio Municipal do Marco de Canaveses.
- Mauro Ribeiro
- Diogo Barbosa
- Manuel Pedro
- Andrezinho
- Kibe
- Joel Monteiro
Betting Insights
The odds have Marco as the favourites at 1.97 , with São João de Ver the battlers at 3.77 and the draw at 3.05 .
Prediction
- As home side and the better of the two in form, we feel that Marco should have enough to edge this one out.
- Given that Marco have the wind in their sails and the more to win, we feel that they should be able to break the defense enough times to nick this one in a low-scoring match.
