Preview: Portimonense vs. Arouca - prediction, team news, lineups

With fifth-placed Vitoria de Guimaraes facing title-chasing Porto, the Arouquenses head into the weekend knowing victory is paramount as they look to snatch a spot in Europe.

Match preview

Portimonense failed to arrest their poor late-season form as they suffered a 1-0 defeat against rock-bottom Santa Clara at the Estadio de Sao Miguel last Saturday.

Coming off a 5-1 hammering at the hands of Benfica, the Portimao outfit set out to restore their pride, but a first-half strike from Andrezinho was enough to hand Santa Clara their fifth win of the season.

Paulo Sergio's men have now gone four successive games without a win, picking up just one point from a possible four and conceding 11 goals since a 1-0 victory over Gil Vicente on April 23.

This poor run of form blew Portimonense's hopes of a top-half finish as they currently sit 14th in the Primeira Liga table, level on 34 points with 13th-placed Gil Vicente.

While the Alvinegros will be looking to end the season on a winning note, they face an Arouca side who have won four of their last five league meetings, with a 1-1 draw in December 2021 being the exception.

Armando Evangelista's men picked up a hard-earned 1-0 victory over Chaves at the Estádio Municipal de Arouca last weekend to take their race for European football down to the wire.

After Steven Vitoria missed his first-half penalty to end the first half goalless, Ghanaian midfielder Morlaye Sylla made no mistake for the spot in the 63rd minute to hand the hosts a vital victory.

Arouca had lost their previous three matches on the bounce, conceding four goals and failing to find the back of the net in that period, having gone undefeated in eight straight games preceding that run.

With 51 points from 33 matches, the Arouquenses are currently sixth in the league standings, two points below fifth-placed Vitoria de Guimaraes in the Conference League qualification spot.

Arouca head into the weekend knowing victory could end their six-year absence from Europe as Guimaraes' last game pits them against a rampant Porto side, who are currently on a blistering 10-match winning streak.

Portimonense Primeira Liga form:

W

W

L

D

L

L

Arouca Primeira Liga form:

D

W

L

L

L

W

Team News

Ever-present defender Filipe Relvas, who has started 33 league matches this season, is a major doubt for Portimonense after combining off with a first-half injury in last week's defeat to Santa Clara.

In his absence, former AS Roma man Moustapha Seck should start at left-back, forming the defence line with Park Ji-soo, Alemao and Sergio Conceicao.

As far as Arouca are concerned, Evangelista will be unable to call upon the Brazilian duo of striker Vitinho and defender Weverson, who are currently recuperating from injuries.

They are joined on the Arouquenses injury table by 24-year-old Oday Dabbagh, who has been sidelined since picking up a muscle injury in February's game against Casa Pia.

January signing Benji Michel, who joined from MLS outfit Orlando City, has missed the last two matches through injury and will also play no part in Saturday's crunch season finale.

Portimonense possible starting lineup:

Nakamura; Conceicao, Alemao, Park; Junior, Carlinhos, Mauricio, Seck; Matos, Gonzalez, Klismahn

Arouca possible starting lineup:

Arruabarrena; Esgaio, Basso, Opoku, Correia; Ruiz, Busquets, Simao; Antony, Mujica, Sylla

We say: Portimonense 0-2 Arouca

Buoyed by their dominant display against Chaves, Arouca go all out for an all-important win as they look to snatch a spot in Europe on the last day. The Arouquenses have enjoyed the better of this fixture and we fancy them coming away with all three points.

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