Seeking to make it four wins in five home games this year, Arouca welcome Casa Pia to the Estadio Municipal de Arouca in round 22 of the Primeira Liga on Saturday.
Having failed to win any of the last three meetings between the sides, Os Gansos will head into the weekend looking to get one over the hosts and strengthen their claim for a spot in Europe.
Match preview
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Arouca's winless run against Braga extended to 11 games last Sunday as they fell to a 2-0 defeat when the sides squared off at the Estadio Braga Municipal.
Despite seeing multiple clear-cut changes, Arouca were guilty of a lack of sting in attack as Abel Ruiz and Simon Banza scored in either half to hand Os Arcebispos a sixth consecutive victory over the visitors.
Prior to that, Armando Evangelista's side ended their three-game winless run when they secured a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Santa Clara on February 11 courtesy of a second-half strike from Alan Ruiz.
Arouca have picked up eight wins, six draws and lost seven of their 21 matches this season to collect 30 points and sit seventh in the Primeira Liga table, two points and one place behind Saturday's visitors.
The Arouquenses' rise to the top half of the league standings has been down to their impressive run of results on home turf, where they are currently on a run of three wins from four matches in 2023 and have won five of their seven matches since the start of October.
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Casa Pia, on the other hand, failed to move into the Europa Conference League qualification places last weekend when they were held to a goalless draw by Vitoria de Guimaraes at the Estadio Pina Manique.
While the biggest chances of the game fell to the hosts, they were repelled by an inspired Bruno Varela between the sticks for Os Vimaranenses as the 28-year-old goalkeeper delivered excellently whenever called into action.
Filipe Martins's side have now failed to win any of their last four games across all competitions, picking up two draws and losing twice, including a shock 5-2 defeat against second-tier Nacional in the Taca de Portugal quarter-finals on February 9.
Having only ended an 83-year absence from the Portuguese top flight courtesy of a second-placed finish in the Segunda Liga less than a year ago, Casa Pia are now eyeing a first appearance in Europe following an impressive first half of the season.
This has been owing to Os Gansos' solid job at the defensive end of the pitch, where the Lisbon outfit boasts the division's joint third-best record with 20 goals conceded — only Benfica and Porto have conceded fewer so far.
Team News
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Arouca remain without the Brazilian duo of Weverson and Vitinho, who are currently recuperating from muscle and knee injuries respectively.
Veteran defender Sema Velazquez came off injured in November's cup game against Feirense and the 32-year-old remains out of contention for the hosts.
Portuguese midfielder Tiago Esgaio is also set to sit out his fifth consecutive game after sustaining a muscle problem against Sporting Lisbon on January 24.
Meanwhile, Casa Pia will take to the pitch without the services of Corinthians loanee Leo Natel, who picked up a season-ending ACL injury in November.
He is joined on Os Gansos' injury table by 24-year-old defender Duplexe Tchamba, who has been out of action since last May through a severe injury.
Arouca possible starting lineup:
Arruabarrena; Milovanov, Basso, Galovic, Correia; Soro, Simao; Sylla, Ruiz, Antony; Dabbagh
Casa Pia possible starting lineup:
Batista; Bolgado, Zolotic, Varela; Soares, Taira, Neto, Poloni; Teixeira, Martins, Kunimoto
We say: Arouca 1-1 Casa Pia
Arouca and Casa Pia have enjoyed a solid campaign and both find themselves in contention for European football next season. Each side are evenly-matched heading into the weekend and we predict that they will cancel out each other's efforts at the Estadio Municipal de Arouca.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joshua Ojele
