Preview: Arouca vs Santa Clara - prediction, team news, lineups

Arouca welcome Santa Clara to the Estadio Municipal de Arouca on Saturday afternoon with the hosts looking to remain above the visitors in the Primeira Liga standings.

Both teams are not in danger of relegation and head into this game looking for a comfortable mid-table finish, but the hosts are three points and two spots above the visitors.

Match preview

Arouca head into this clash sitting 11th in the standings with 35 points from 31 matches, though they have been inconsistent in recent weeks, with two losses and a win in their last three matches.

While their position suggests relative safety, their recent inconsistency has prevented them from pushing into the top half, with a 1-0 loss to Braga and a 2-1 defeat at Alverca last time out sandwiching 1-0 triumph against Estrela.

However, in that same period, Arouca have shown signs of greater stability at home, winning four of their last five matches at the Estadio Municipal with their only defeat in that period coming against title-chasing Benfica.

Vasco Seabra’s are capable of finishing the campaign strongly in front of their supporters and they will hope that helps them better last season’s 12th-placed finish by the end of the campaign with two home games and one away left in their last three league matches.

With no chance of reaching the European places, the primary objective for the hosts is to secure a top-half finish, and a victory here would improve their chances of achieving that; and encouragingly they are unbeaten in their last three home games against the visitors, picking up a draw and two wins.

Santa Clara will hope they can halt that run on Saturday, and Petit’s side will hope a two-match unbeaten streak in this fixture (1W, 1D) – though both games were as hosts – will give them the required confidence to achieve this.

The Azoreans arrive here in 13th place with 32 points, and a win will see them edge closer to the top half, though they cannot attain their performance when they finished fifth, their best finish in the top flight.

Their overall campaign has been marked by inconsistency, with eight wins, eight draws and 15 defeats so far, and half of those triumphs were recorded after Petit took over the managerial role in early February after Vasco Matos’ sacking.

The team from Azores Islands, who had a five-match unbeaten run under Petit over a month ago, are now unbeaten in their last two matches, following up a goalless draw at Casa Pia with an impressive 2-1 home victory over top side Braga last time out.

Santa Clara’s major weakness have been their away form and that could be what stops them from making it three matches without defeat, with the visitors picking up just two away wins in the league from 15 attempts.

Arouca Primeira Liga form:

Santa Clara Primeira Liga form:

Team News

Arouca are expected to have a relatively settled squad for this fixture, although there are minor concerns over squad depth due to isolated injury issues.

Uruguayan striker Dylan Nandin, who has missed four consecutive games since sustaining an injury in the win over Moreirense, is a doubt for this one as he nears full fitness, while Portuguese goalkeeper Joao Valido is ruled out.

Santa Clara also have a few uncertainties within their squad, with some players dealing with fitness issues and availability concerns.

Pedro Ferreira sustained an early injury in the win over Braga and might not feature here, while Matheus Araujo remains sidelined with a knee injury.

Arouca possible starting lineup:

Arruabarrena; Esgaio, Rocha, Fontan, Kuipers; Fukui, Van Ee; Gozalbez, Lee, Djouahra; Barbero

Santa Clara possible starting lineup:

Batista; Calila, Lima, Venancio, Romao; Serginho, Santos, Klismahn, Araujo, Silva; Paciencia

We say: Arouca 2-1 Santa Clara

With both sides not in danger of the drop, this game could feel a bit more relaxed, though Arouca’s form and Santa Clara’s poor away form could determine the result here, which is why we are titling towards the hosts for this one.

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