Preview: Boavista vs. Rio Ave - prediction, team news, lineups

Currently separated by just one point and one place in the Primeira Liga table, we anticipate a thrilling battle ensuing between the two sides as they push for a top-half finish.

Match preview

Boavista's dreams of securing European football for the first time since the 2002-03 campaign suffered another blow as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Vizela last Saturday.

Following an uneventful first half at the Estadio do FC Vizela, Yusupha Nije broke the deadlock in the 71st minute to put the visitors ahead before substitute Osama Rashid restored parity with three minutes remaining in the game.

Prior to that, Petit's side snapped their run of three straight defeats on April 7, when they picked up a 2-1 win over Vitoria de Guimaraes courtesy of goals from Salvador Agra and Gaius Makouta.

While Boavista have failed to win any of their last three away games, they now return to the Estadio do Bessa, where they are unbeaten in six of their seven games since the turn of the year, claiming three wins and three draws.

Rio Ave, on the other hand, failed to arrest their slump in form as they could only salvage a 1-1 draw against Casa Pia at the Estadio dos Arcos last Sunday.

Despite being on the back foot for most of the game, Rafael Martins struck against the run of play to hand the visitors a 17th-minute lead but Renato Pantalon netted seven minutes after the interval to force a share of the spoils.

The Vilacondenses have now gone three consecutive matches without a win, claiming two points from a possible nine since picking up successive wins over Gil Vicente and Santa Clara in March.

This poor run of form has seen Luis Freire's men drop to 11th place in the Primeira Liga standings, one point above Saturday's hosts and 10 adrift of the final Europa Conference League qualification spot.

However, Rio Ave will be backing themselves to kick-start their turnaround this weekend as they face a Boavista side against whom they are unbeaten in 15 of their last 17 meetings, claiming 12 wins and three draws since September 2014.

Boavista Primeira Liga form:

D

L

L

L

W

D

Rio Ave Primeira Liga form:

L

W

W

L

D

D

Team News

Rodrigo Abascal will play no part in this weekend's clash as he serves the second of his three-game suspension after picking up a straight red against Vitoria de Guimaraes on April 7.

In his absence, Vincent Sasso should form the centre-back pairing with Reggie Cannon once again, with Igor Juliao and Matheus Pereira taking up the full-back roles respectively.

Njie took his goal tally to 11 goals with his strike against Vizela and the 29-year-old should team up with Kenji Gorre and Salvador Agra in attack for the third consecutive game.

Meanwhile, Rio Ave will take to the pitch without the services of Portuguese midfielder Joca, who has been out of action since last September through a knee injury.

Emmanuel Boateng has struggled in front of goal for the Vilacondenses and the Ghanaian forward, who has now failed to hit the target in 17 consecutive games, could be dropped to the bench, with Hernani pushing for a starting role.

Boavista possible starting lineup:

Bracali; Juliao, Cannon, Sasso, Pereira; Perez, Makouta, Lourenco; Agra, Gorre, Njie

Rio Ave possible starting lineup:

Jhonatan; Pantalon, Santos, William; Costinha, Samaris, Guga, Ronaldo; Graca, Pereira, Hernani

We say: Boavista 1-1 Rio Ave

While Boavista and Rio Ave have run out of steam in recent weeks, they have an outside chance of securing a spot in Europe. With that said, both sides head into the weekend knowing defeat could effectively spell the end of their European ambitions. We predict they will take a cautious approach to the game and settle for a share of the spoils.

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