Fresh off the back of ending their nine-game winless run, Boavista play host to Braga at the Estadio do Bessa in round 25 of the Portuguese Primeira Liga on Saturday.

The visitors will be desperate to get one over Os Axadrezados after failing to win either of the previous two meetings between the sides this season, including a 5-1 defeat in the Taca da Liga back in December.

Match preview

Boavista finally returned to winning ways in the Primeira Liga as they edged out a resilient Estoril Praia side 3-2 at the Estadio Antonio Coimbra da Mota last weekend.

After Petar Musa and Rodrigo Abascal netted to cancel out Bernardo Vital's opener and put Boavista ahead, Leonardo Ruiz restored parity from the spot in the 54th minute before Luis Santos grabbed the winner with five minutes left to play.

Prior to that, Os Axadrezados were on a run of nine consecutive games without a win, losing twice and settling for a share of the spoils on seven different occasions in that time.

Petit's side head into Saturday's game unbeaten in each of their last seven home games across all competitions, claiming five draws and two wins, including an emphatic 5-1 victory over Saturday's visitors when they squared off in Group C of the Taca da Liga.

With 25 points from 24 games, Boavista are currently 13th in the Primeira Liga standings, two points off Pacos de Ferreira in the top half of the table and five above 16th-placed Moreirense in the relegation playoff spot.

Braga, on the other hand, were denied a third win on the spin last time out when they were held to an uneventful goalless draw by Santa Clara at the Estadio Braga Municipal.

Manager Carlos Carvalhal will feel disappointed not to have come away with maximum points as his side was guilty of a wasteful display in front of goal where they failed to convert any of their several clear-cut goalscoring opportunities.

Prior to that, Os Arcebispo claimed a 1-0 win at Tondela on February 20 courtesy of Ricardo Horta's solitary strike, before securing a 2-0 win over Sheriff Tiraspol in the Europa League four days later.

With 45 points from 24 games, Braga currently occupy fourth place in the league standings, nine points off third-placed Benfica and four above Gil Vicente in the final Conference League qualification spot.

Team News

With his strike against Estoril Praia last time out, Musa has now been involved in five goals in his last five games and the Croatian forward will certainly be one to keep an eye out for on Saturday.

On the injury front, Boavista will take to the pitch without the services of Miguel Reisinho, who continues his spell on the sidelines after sustaining a knee injury back in August.

Braga, on the other hand, will make do with the absence of 31-year-old defender Nuno Sequeira, who has been sidelined since last November through injury.

He is joined on the Os Arcebispo injury table by Lucas Mineiro after the Brazilian midfielder came off with a muscle problem in January's game versus Maritimo.

Portuguese youngster Roger Fernandes is also set to sit out his fourth consecutive game after the 16-year-old came off injured in the Europa League game against Sheriff Tiraspol.

Boavista possible starting lineup:
Bracali; Ferreira, Cannon, Porozo, Abascal, Santos; Makouta, Gorre, Sauer, Perez; Musa

Braga possible starting lineup:
Matheus; Tormena, P Oliveira, Leite; Silva, Castro, Moura, Al Musrati; V Oliveira, R Horta, Ruiz

We say: Boavista 1-2 Braga

Despite failing to come away with all three points last time out, Braga head into Saturday's game as the more in-form side, claiming three wins and one draw from their last four games. While Boavista will be looking to build on their win over Estoril Praia, we see the visitors grinding out a narrow win in this one and strengthening their position in the upper echelons of the table.

Previews by email