Newly-promoted SC Farense welcome Casa Pia to the Algarve on the opening weekend of the Primeira Liga this Saturday.

This will be the first-ever top-flight meetings between the two clubs after remarkable rises by both in recent years.

Match preview

This is set to be a crucial season opener for both clubs, as the two could do with a positive start considering Farense travel to Porto next, while Casa Pia host Sporting Lisbon.

For Farense, this is just their second season in the top flight since 2002, and they will hope it goes better than the last, when they were instantly sent back down to the second division in 2020-21.

That season was predominantly played behind closed doors though, so this should be a special season with the fans back in attendance.

Their fans had much to love last season too, as Farense came up in style, winning all of their final eight matches to leave Estrela in their wake.

Those 24 points saw them finish six points clear of third place, as their supreme form paired with Estrela's untimely loss of theirs saw Farense leapfrog them into the automatic promotion places.

Jose Mota's side had little pre-season preparation before starting their League Cup campaign last month.

A 5-1 defeat to Al Nassr was their only friendly before they navigated their way through ties against Moreirense and Oliveirense to reach the group stage.

Since then, some positive results have followed, as Farense scored twice despite defeat to Roma before seeing off Portimonense.

Casa Pia performed stoutly in their first top-flight appearance since before the Second World War last season.

They looked like European contenders for much of the year, but a woeful finish quickly dashed those dreams.

Ending with just three points from a possible 27 meant Casa Pia finished 12 points off the final Europa Conference League place - the worst form in the division.

However, if the club had been offered a mid-table finish - 18 points clear of the drop - at the start of the season, many would have taken it without a moment's hesitation.

How they perform this season will be intriguing though, because their pragmatic approach may come under more intense scrutiny, especially after last season's late collapse.

Only three teams scored fewer than Filipe Martins's men despite their 10th-placed finish, so some additional firepower may be required.

Like Farense, Casa Pia are also safely through to the League Cup group stage after back-to-back 2-0 wins over Vilaverdense and Torreense to kick off their competitive season.

Team News

Farense have added seven new faces to the squad so far as they make the step-up to the top flight.

Rafael Barbosa, Bruno Duarte and Artur Jorge are among those with previous top-flight experience and could play important roles.

Despite being the second-highest scorers in the second tier last season, nobody reached double figures for Farense.

The goals were shared out all over the squad, but top scorer Rui Costa has made a positive start, netting in both League Cup outings.

Casa Pia have also been busy this summer, signing eight players, one of whom is promising youngster Jaja, who has joined after an underwhelming spell in Russia with Torpedo Moscow last year.

Fernando Andrade will hope to find a new lease of life at Casa Pia having not featured for Porto in over a year, while Gaizka Larrazabal is a very notable coup from Real Zaragoza.

Former AC Milan and Benfica youngster Tiago Dias and Andre Geraldes are also notable additions from upcoming opponents Farense and Maccabi Tel-Aviv respectively.

The visitors have two injury concerns heading into the encounter, with Kiki and Neto both set to miss out.

SC Farense possible starting lineup:
Ricardo Velho; Delgado, Artur Jorge, Muscat, Joao Talocha; Ponde, Andre Seruca, Isidoro, Bruno Duarte; Rui Costa, Vitor Goncalves

Casa Pia possible starting lineup:
Ricardo Batista; Tchamba, Fernando Varela, Vasco Fernandes, Zolotic, Lelo; Larrazabal, Godwin, Diogo Costa Pinto, Mukendi; Clayton

We say: SC Farense 0-0 Casa Pia

Farense may find it difficult adjusting to life at the top again, and start the season against one of the Primeira Liga's most pragmatic outfits.

Goals were not Casa Pia's strong point last season, and not much has been done to address that over the summer, so a cagey opener could be on the cards.


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