Arouca will be looking to secure back-to-back home wins for the first time this season when they play host to Casa Pia at the Estadio Municipal de Arouca in round 32 of the Primeira Liga on Sunday.
Os Gansos, on the other hand, head into the weekend in search of their first victory on the road since the start of February as they continue their push for a second consecutive top-half finish.
Match preview
Arouca were denied successive Primeira Liga wins for the first time since February as they suffered a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Santa Clara when the two sides squared off last Saturday.
Portuguese midfielder Ricardinho turned in a performance of the highest qualifying at the Estadio de Sao Miguel as he struck twice in the first half to take his league tally to six goals and fire Santa Clara to a comfortable victory.
Prior to that, Arouca snapped their four-game winless run on April 19, when they held on to see out a 1-0 victory over Estrela Amadora at the Estadio Municipal de Arouca courtesy of a 67th-minute strike from Uruguayan forward Dylan Nandin.
With just three games to go, Vasco Seabra‘s men are guaranteed to finish with fewer points from last season (46) as they sit 12th in the league standings with 33 points from their 31 matches, level with 13th-placed Rio Ave.
While Arouca will look to bounce back this weekend in their bid to close out the season on a high, next up is the challenge of an opposing side who have won each of their most recent three clashes, scoring five goals and keeping two clean sheets since a 2-0 loss in February 2023.
Over in Lisbon, Casa Pia continue to struggle for results down the stretch of the season as they fell to a 3-1 defeat against Estoril Praia at the Estadio Municipal de Rio Maior last weekend.
In a game where Jeremy Livolant received his marching orders, Cassiano netted just before the break to cancel out Yanis Begraoui‘s 21st-minute opener and end the first half level but Alejandro Marques and Joao Carvalho netted in a late five-minute spell to hand Estoril all three points.
With that result, Casa Pia have now failed to taste victory in four games on the spin and have managed just one win from their last eight outings, while losing five and claiming two draws since the start of March.
Despite their drop-off in form at the business end of the season, Javier Pereira‘s men are on course to score a top-half finish for the second year running as they sit ninth in the Primeira Liga table with 41 points from 31 matches, five points above 10th-placed Moreirense.
While Casa Pia will be looking to find their feet this weekend, recent results on the road offer little optimism as they have failed to win any of their last six away matches, claiming just two points from a possible 18, having won each of the three games preceding this run.
Team News
Arouca will take to the pitch without the services of Croatian defender Nino Galovic, who has been sidelined since August through a knee injury while David Simao has missed the last five games through a muscle problem.
Veteran defender Tiago Esgaio is also set to sit out his fifth consecutive game after coming off injured against Braga back in March while Matias Rocha continue his journey to full fitness after picking up an injury against Nacional on February 1.
Mamadou Loum Ndiaye picked up a red card while on the bench against Santa Clara last time out and the Senegalese midfielder will play no part in Sunday’s clash.
Casa Pia will have to cope without the services of French forward Livolant, who will sit out this weekend’s clash due to suspension after picking up a straight red card against Estoril Praia last time out.
In his absence, 21-year-old Oluwakorede Osundina should come into the fold, forming the three-man attack with Henrique Pereira and veteran striker Cassiano, who has 10 league goals under his belt this season.
On the injury front, Pereira will be unable to name 24-year-old forward Claudio Mendes, has been ruled out since last May through a severe knee injury while fellow attacker Kiki Afonso, who continues his long road to full fitness after coming off injured in the game against Mafra back in August 2024.
Cameroonian defender Duplexe Tchamba has missed each of the last three games since picking up an injury against Farense on April 7 and the 26-year-old is also out of contention for the trip to the Estadio Municipal de Arouca.
Arouca possible starting lineup:
Mantl; Pinto, Lamba, Fontan, Weverson; Garcia, Fukui; Trezza, Sylla, Mansilla; Nandin
Casa Pia possible starting lineup:
Sequeira; Goulart, Benaissa-Yahia, Kluivert, Larrazabal; Mohamed, Roberto, Dias; Osundina, Cassiano, Pereira
We say: Arouca 2-2 Casa Pia
Arouca and Casa Pia have struggled to get going at the tail end of the season and will both set out in search of a morale-boosting result as they look to close out the season strong. Home advantage gives Arouca a slight upper hand but we predict Os Gansos will do just enough to force a share of the spoils.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
