Estoril — Santa Clara : Match Preview and Prediction for September 06,2025

Estoril’s Early Season Performance

After the first three matchdays, “the Canaries” have only managed to collect two points. A closer look at their results reveals draws against Estrela (1:1) and Tondela (2:2), and a loss to Vitoria (2:3). All three of these encounters saw goals from both sides. Analyzing the xG data for these matches further illustrates their defensive struggles: Estrela (0.69-1.34), Vitoria (0.94-1.88), and Tondela (1.86-2.87). According to advanced statistics, Estoril should have lost all three games, having allowed their opponents to generate a total of 6.09 expected goals. Given the caliber of their opponents, this is a significant concession. The frequent defensive breakdowns stem from “the Canaries'” playing style. When facing mid-table teams, they do not adopt a deep defensive block but instead actively push forward, which inevitably exposes their backline. Despite this, Estoril possesses decent attacking potential, boasting two capable strikers in Yanis Begraoui and Alejandro Marques. Last season, they each scored 11 goals, ranking 7th and 8th in the league’s top scorers. In the off-season, Rafik Guitane, who has previous experience in the French Ligue 1, returned to the club from Braga. He has already netted two goals in the initial three rounds.

Santa Clara’s Season So Far and European Campaign

This season kicked off with UEFA Europa Conference League qualifiers for “the Azoreans.” Santa Clara invested maximum effort in the European competition, which left them with insufficient energy for a strong league performance. They played six matches in the Conference League, successfully reaching the playoff final round, where they narrowly lost to Shamrock Rovers with an aggregate score of 1:2. However, “the Azoreans” will no longer be expending energy on the international stage. They have utilized the international break to rest and are now fully focused on the domestic championship. Santa Clara boasts the seventh-largest budget (€40.98 million) in the Portuguese league. For comparison, Estoril is positioned 8th in this regard (€39.58 million). In their initial three league matches, the team has only secured one point and, notably, has not scored a single goal. This is undoubtedly a consequence of their demanding European commitments. Yet, across those three league games, “the Azoreans” generated 1.99 expected goals (xG), indicating their attack is not entirely toothless.