Santarem

vs

Varzim SC

Preview

Santarém (home)

• Santarém have failed to win any of their last six, losing five.
• The hosts are in 8th position, bottom of the table on 9 points, while Varzim are sixth with 13, a significant gap between the two sides that underscores the significance of the match for both clubs.
• Santarém will set up with a structured, compact shape to play a defensive, patient style of soccer, and they will need to be near their best to get something from the match against a confident and talented Varzim side.
• Carlos Miguel Brandão Fernandes has done a good job with his players in terms of structure and defensive consistency, but he has struggled to get a tune out of his forward line.

Varzim (away)

• Varzim have won once, drawn once and lost four of their last six matches in all competitions.
• Varzim SC will be slight favourites with most to win Saturday’s clash against União de Santarém in the Liga 3 promotion group.
• In his third spell in charge of the club, Nuno ‘Capucho’ has set Varzim up with a 4-2-3-1 system, in which the players press with intensity, play vertical soccer and transition quickly from defense to attack.
• Varzim will aim to press their hosts deep into their own half and force them into mistakes, then break with pace to score, before re-engaging to frustrate their opponents once more.
• Varzim’s attack has been one of the better ones in the promotion phase of the competition, however, their recent form has been patchy, with defensive lapses costing them points.

Head-to-Head

Varzim

• They have a number of players who can come up with the odd piece of brilliance, like Francisco França, Pedro Clemente and Chamito, but the driving force behind their attack and team in general is captain, Rúben Oliveira.
  • Francisco França
  • Pedro Clemente
  • Chamito
  • Rúben Oliveira (captain)

Santarém

• Éberth is an intelligent forward with a physical presence and will be the most likely to hurt Varzim at any time, but the hosts have failed to win any of their last six matches and need to improve if they want to climb off the bottom.
• Eric Ayiah, Sidy Koumé and Manu are the three that Varzim will need to contain as they provide Santarém’s main threat with their pace and width.

Betting Insights

• The odds for both teams to win are near even at 2.51, with the draw at 3.16, and the algorithmic forecasts are just on the side of the away team.
• However, we feel that odds are slightly on the short side, and we would rather take the draw option in the double chance market at around the same price.
• A narrow away win for Varzim is the more likely outcome, but we don’t fancy either team to run away with this one, and we are taking the under 2.5 goals market at 1.68.

Prediction