Casa Piavs.Arouca

Casapianos are eight places ahead of their opponents in the table and are favourites on home soil against one of the competition's lowest scorers.

Match preview

Two second-half goals at Estoril ended Casa Pia's extended league run without winning, with Telasco Segovia and Cassiano finding the net after the interlude in minutes 56 and 63 to seal a 2-0 road success.

That triumph ended the club's four-match wait for maximum points since beating Nacional 1-0 in late October, thus holding on to ninth place in the Portuguese top division.

Although Joao Pereira's men have struggled for wins this term (four) and have only just snapped a winless sequence lasting nearly two months, the Lisbon club's only losses since a wretched three-match losing start this term have been at Sporting and Porto.

Having played out five draws in the previous nine matches (two wins, two defeats), Os Gansos hope that Sunday's win at 12th-placed Estoril will be the fillip to secure consecutive Liga victories for the second time this term, following wins over Estrela (1-0) and Moreirense (3-1) in August and September, respectively.

Supporters also head into the fixture aware of last season's double over Friday's visitors, and they hope their team notches a third consecutive triumph over Arouquenses.

Lobos head into the 15th round after a 1-0 triumph over high-flying Santa Clara in fourth to claim their third victory this term and the club's first since beating Farense (1-0) in September.

Unlike Friday's hosts, who have typically avoided losing, Arouca failed to eke out ample draws during their winless run, highlighted by five losses and two ties before Sunday's win.

Beating the fourth-placed club not only took Arouca (11 points) from bottom to second-bottom, but Vasco Seabra's men benefitted from defeats to Boavista (11 points) and Estrela Amadora (12) and could leave the relegation places by claiming maximum points on Friday.

However, Lobos' shortage of attacking firepower could undermine them in the short term and diminish Seabra's side in the battle for survival, with eight goals only superior to cellar-dwelling Farense in the division.

Firing blanks in six of 14 games has not aided Arouca's cause, while conceding 23 at the other end highlights their issues in both boxes before visiting Casapianos.

Hampered by attacking problems and defensive struggles, Lobos aim to finally achieve consecutive league wins this term against Casa Pia, a feat last season's seventh-placed side last accomplished in April.

Casa Pia Primeira Liga form:

W

D

D

L

D

W

Casa Pia form (all competitions):

D

D

W

L

D

W

Arouca Primeira Liga form:

L

L

D

L

L

W

Arouca form (all competitions):

L

D

L

L

L

W

Team News

Pablo Roberto has not played since October's loss to Sporting, and the Casa Pia midfielder continues to be sidelined along with long-term absentees Kiki and Claudio Mendes.

After firing blanks in consecutive Liga games (Porto and AVS), Cassiano notched his fifth league strike in the victory over Estoril, and the team's leading scorer aims to add to his growing tally against struggling opponents.

Arouca remain without Nino Galovic, absent since mid-August, as well as Pedro Moreira, Oriol Busquets, Eboue Kouassi and Vitinho, none of whom have featured this term.

The visitors will assess Pedro Carvalho Santos and Henrique Araujo after both players were withdrawn with seeming injuries against Santa Clara.

The possibility of playing without Araujo (two goals) would be a blow, as he and Jason (three goals) have scored five of Lobos' eight top-flight strikes, with Jason notching the only goal last time out.

Casa Pia possible starting lineup:

Sequeira; Goulart, Fonte, Tchamba; Larrazabal, Segovia, Brito, Lelo; Livolant, Moreira; Cassiano

Arouca possible starting lineup:

Mantl; Esgaio, Lamba, Fontan, Weverson; Simao, Loum; Trezza, Sylla, Jason; Yalcin

We say: Casa Pia 1-0 Arouca

Despite playing out three draws in their recent five home encounters (two wins), Casa Pia are favoured to beat struggling Arouca, who have lost five of seven road fixtures this term (one win, one draw).

Written by

Anthony Brown

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