Santa Clara VS Nacional da Madeira

Staying in their home ground in the Azores, Santa Clara has a significant advantage. The away - team's long - distance travel will surely take a toll on their physical condition. In the previous season, Santa Clara had a home win - rate approaching 70% and a clean - sheet rate of over 40% at home. During the pre - season warm - up, Santa Clara had an excellent record of 4 wins and 1 draw in 5 games, conceding only 2 goals. This shows that their offense and defense are well - coordinated. In the summer transfer window, they brought in a former Nacional goalkeeper, which strengthens their back - line. With only one rotation forward absent, their 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 formation provides a solid midfield interception. They are good at set - pieces and wing penetration. Having defeated their opponent 2 - 0 at home last season, they have a strong psychological edge. On the other hand, Nacional de Madeira is in a tough situation. In their six pre - season warm - up games, they had 3 draws and 3 losses without a single win, indicating a poor form. Their defense is hit hard by injuries, with two starting center - backs and a rotation full - back all out. They have a long - standing poor performance on the road, losing 9 out of 17 away games last season. In conclusion, Santa Clara seems to be in a much better position to win this game.