Santa Clara vs NacionalPrediction, probable lineups, recent form & season stats

Liga Portugal returns in the Azores with two sides who struggled to score last year. Santa Clara produced 1.1 goals a game at home while conceding one, blanked in 34% of those matches and taking 1.4 points. Nacional managed 0.7 a trip on the road with 1.6 conceded and just 0.5 points a game. A Santa Clara side solid in front of their own crowd Their last six home games describe a better run than the averages suggest: 2-0 against Nacional themselves, 2-1 against Sporting Braga, 1-0 against Gil Vicente, 2-0 against Guimaraes, with their only defeats coming to Rio Ave and Benfica. Four wins in six, against opponents from every tier. A Nacional side struggling away from home Their last six on the road speak plainly: 0-2 at Santa Clara, 0-2 at Benfica, 0-1 at Famalicao, 0-3 at Arouca, with a single win at Tondela. Four of six trips ended without a goal, and half a point taken a game. The verdict: the call is that Santa Clara avoid defeat. At home they take almost three times the points Nacional manage on the road, and the visitors are blanked in nearly half their away games. The 0-1 in one of the meetings is the sign the game can turn. I read it around 77%. My take: two sides who score little, but Santa Clara stand on far firmer ground at home.