Seeking to pick up their first win of the 2023-24 Portuguese Primeira Liga campaign, Estoril Praia play host to Rio Ave on Sunday evening.
The Vilacondenses are currently unbeaten in each of their last eight visits to the Estadio Antonio Coimbra da Mota and will head into the weekend looking to extend this dominant run.
Match preview
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Estoril Praia were left spitting feathers in last Sunday's league opener when they suffered a narrow 4-3 defeat against Arouca at the Estadio Municipal de Arouca.
Despite efforts from Jordan Holsgrove, Joao Marques and Alejandro Marques, goals from Rafa Mujica, Cristo Gonzalez, Pedro Santos and an own goal from Volnei Feltes helped Arouca claim a pulsating victory.
Prior to that, the Canarinhos booked their spot in the group stages of the 2023-24 Taca da Liga campaign as they picked up successive wins over Pacos de Ferreira and Os Belenenses in their two qualifying matches.
Alvaro Pacheco's men now return home, where they are on a run of five wins and one draw in their last six matches across all competitions since April's 1-0 loss against Portimonense.
While Estoril Praia will be looking to extend this solid home record and get their league campaign up and running, they face the challenge of an opposing side who are unbeaten in their last five league meetings, claiming four wins and one draw since a 2-1 loss in October 2016.
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Rio Ave, on the other hand, could not have hoped for a more convincing start to the new Primeira Liga campaign as they picked up a 2-0 victory over Chaves last Sunday.
In a one-sided affair at the Estadio dos Arcos, Leonardo Ruiz and substitute Ze Manuel scored second-half goals to condemn the Flavienses to an opening-day defeat.
This followed a 2-0 defeat against Arouca in the Taca da Liga qualifiers on July 30, when Kouassi Eboue and Rafa Mujica scored in either half to hand Arouquenses a spot in the group stages of the cup competition.
While Rio Ave will be looking to pick up where they dropped off last weekend, they have struggled for results on the road, where they are currently without a win in five straight competitive matches and have managed just one win since last December.
However, Luis Freire's men journey to the Estadio Antonio Coimbra da Mota, where they are unbeaten in each of their last eight visits, claiming five wins and four draws since October 2010.
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Team News
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Off the back of an injury-free game against Arouca, Estoril Praia head into the weekend with a clean bill of health, giving Pacheco the luxury of a full-strength squad at his disposal.
Joao Marques and Holsgrove were standout performers for the Canarinhos last weekend and should team up with Ivan Palic in the centre of the park once again.
On the other hand, veteran defender Josue Sa is a doubt for Rio Ave after coming off injured late in last week's victory over Chaves.
Should he fail to shake off the injury in time for Sunday, Patrick Williams could come into the fold, forming the back three with Aderllan Santos and Renato Pantalon.
Ze Manuel, who spent last season on loan with Nacional, turned in an eye-catching cameo last weekend and could be rewarded with a place in the Vilacondenses XI.
Estoril Praia possible starting lineup:
Figueira; Volnei, Vital, Alvaro, Joaozinho; Holsgrove, Marques, Pavlic, Guitane; Tavares, Cassiano
Rio Ave possible starting lineup:
Magrao; Sa, Santos, Pantalon; Costinha, Oudrhiri, Guga, Ronaldo; Joca, Ruiz, Hernani
We say: Estoril Praia 1-1 Rio Ave
While Estoril will be looking to continue their impressive home record, Rio Ave's record at the Estadio Antonio Coimbra da Mota means that Saturday's game will be anything but a straightforward affair. We predict both sides will cancel out each other's efforts and settle for a share of the spoils.
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