Santa Clara had a strong preseason with Brazilian forward Fernando banging in the goals. Nacional could struggle up front which means I am backing a home win in Portugal.
HTH - Little Separates Island Clubs
These clubs have met 21 times with little separation, Santa Clara leading Nacional 8-7 alongside six draws.
Santa Clara Stabilising under Petit
Santa Clara stabilised last season after falling into the relegation zone in January. Petit replaced Vasco Matos and went unbeaten in nine of their final 12 matches.
The Azores club went undefeated in eight preseason games. The highlights were two wins against top flight opposition, beating Moreirense 2-1 and Arouca 3-0.
Petit issued a rallying cry before the match: "We have our own identity, but we know that football lives on results. The most important result is three points and a good start to the championship.
"We want to accumulate as many points as possible at home. Our home has to be a fortress. It has to give us life, along with our fans."
Nacional Light Up Front
Nacional won three of their final five games last season, avoiding the relegation playoff position by four points. Tiago Margarido left to join Guimarães and has been replaced by João Gião.
It hasn’t been a promising preseason, the Madeira club unable to win their opening six matches. They failed to score in three straight games before beating fourth division club Camacha 1-0.
Gião spoke about the transition from friendly to competitive games: "Friendly matches are one thing, but matches with the emotional weight this one will have, in a context that is not favorable, especially since it's at the opponent's home ground, are quite another."
Predicted Lineups & Team News
Santa Clara (4-2-3-1) Alysson; Diogo Calila, Sidney Lima, Henrique Silva, Lucas Soares; Pedro Ferreira, Djé Tavares; Vinícius Lopes, João Vasconcelos, Brenner; Fernando
Gabriel Silva was sold to Braga with Gabriel Batista, João Afonso, Reinaldo, Paulo Victor, Serginho and Gustavo Klismahn also leaving the club.
Lucas França, João Vasconcelos and Vitinho are the notable signings. MT is still recovering from a cruciate ligament injury.
Nacional (4-2-3-1) Renato Marin; Wesley Gasolina, Léo Santos, Zé Vítor, José Gomes; Matheus Dias, Liziero; Pablo Ruan, Miguel Baeza, Filipe Soares; Stavros Gavriel
Star striker Chuchu Ramírez left on a free transfer for Turkish club Corum. Lucas França, Witi and Paulinho Bóia all departed for no fee.
Renato Marin and João Gonçalves will battle for the goalkeeper position. Wesley Gasolina, Daniel de la Cruz, Danel Dongmo, Mateus Iseppe, Markus Jensen and Stavros Gavriel have moved to Madeira.
Centre-backs Ivanildo Fernandes and Ulisses are injured and left-back José Gomes is dealing with a rib injury.