Preview: Arouca vs Estoril Praia - prediction, team news, lineups

Arouca will be aiming to continue from where they left off before the international break when they play host to Estoril Praia in round 28 of the Portuguese Primeira Liga on Monday.

Estoril, on the other hand, head into the game looking to secure their first win at the Estadio Municipal de Arouca since August 2021 and keep their hopes of clinching European football alive.

Match preview

Following weeks of mediocre results, Arouca finally gave their fans something to cheer for last time out as they held on to see out a 1-0 victory over Moreirense when the two sides squared off on March 21.

Following a goalless first half at the Parque de Jogos Comendador Joaquim de Almeida Freitas, substitute Miguel Puche came up trumps for the visitors in the 67th minute when he converted from close range to hand Moreirense a third consecutive defeat.

This came as a timely boost for Arouca, who had lost each of their previous three matches, suffering defeats at the hands of Porto, Famalicao and Benfica while conceding six goals and scoring twice across the three games.

With just eight wins from their 27 Primeira Liga matches so far, Vasco Seabra’s men continue to flirt with the prospects of relegation, as they sit 12th in the league table with 29 points from 27 games, just five points above the bottom three.

Arouca kept just their sixth clean sheet against Moreirense last time out, with their defensive frailty underlining what has been a difficult campaign, having conceded 55 goals so far — the second-highest in the division behind rock-bottom AVS (61).

On the other hand, Estoril Praia dropped three more points in their quest for European qualification last time out when they fell to a 2-1 defeat against Rio Ave at the Estadio Antonio Coimbra da Mota.

Ferro opened the scoring in the 16th minute to put the home side in front heading into half time, but Jakub Brabec hit back for Rio Ave in the 54th minute before Spanish striker Jalen Blesa completed the comeback with a 74th-minute penalty.

Estoril Praia have blown hot and cold in the business half of the season, losing three and claiming two wins from their seven matches since picking up three consecutive victories over Estrela Amadora, Vitoria de Guimaraes and Santa Clara back in January.

Ian Cathro’s men have lost 10 of their 27 Primeira Liga matches while picking up 10 wins and seven draws to collect 37 points and sit seventh in the league table, 12 points off fourth-placed Braga in the Conference League qualifying spot heading into the final seven games.

While Estoril will be looking to bounce back on Monday, they have failed to win their last three games at the Estadio Municipal de Arouca, losing twice and claiming one draw, and are on a run of just one win in their last nine visits since August 2013.

Arouca Primeira Liga form:

Estoril Praia Primeira Liga form:

Team News

Hyun-ju Lee and Uruguayan striker Dylan Nandin came off injured in the game against Moreirense last time out and will play no part in Monday’s tie.

In their absence, Spanish forward Miguel Puche should spearhead the Arouca attack, while Pedro Santos should be handed his ninth league start of the season at the centre of the park.

Mateo Flores has missed each of the last eight matches since coming off injured against Sporting Lisbon in January and the Spanish midfielder is also out of contention for the Arouquenses.

As for Estoril Praia, Kevin Boma has been out of action since sustaining a muscle injury back in February and the 23-year-old is ruled out for the trip to the Estadio Municipal de Arouca.

Other than that, Estoril boasts a clean bill of health and no suspension concerns, giving Cathro the luxury of a relatively full strength squad to select from on Monday.

Arouca possible starting lineup:

De Arruabarrena; Esgaio, Sanchez, Fontan, Kuipers; Van Ee, Fukui; Santos, Gozalbez, Djouahra; Puche

Estoril Praia possible starting lineup:

Robles; Carvalho, Ferro, Bacher, Sanchez; Xeka, Tsoungui, Holsgrove; Guitane, Begraoui, Carvalho

We say: Arouca 2-2 Estoril Praia

With both Arouca and Estoril struggling for consistency, this is a really tough match to call, as both teams will believe that they can come away with the result.

Both sides are evenly matched on paper, and while we anticipate an exciting matchup at the Estadio Municipal de Arouca, we predict they will cancel out each other’s efforts and settle for a share of the spoils.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.