Both looking to pick up successive wins for the first time this year, Boavista and Arouca go head to head at the Estadio do Bessa as Round 23 of the Portuguese Primeira Liga gets underway on Friday.
While the hosts will be looking to pick up successive league wins for the first time since September, the Arouquenses head into the weekend in search of their first away win of the year.
Match preview
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Boavista kept their hopes of securing a place in Europa alive as they cruised to a 3-1 victory over rock-bottom Pacos de Ferreira when the sides squared off at the Estadio Capital do Movel last Sunday.
Despite being under the cosh for most of the game and seeing less than 40% of the ball, goals from Yusupha Njie, Ricardo Mangas and Kenji Gorre put the visitors in a commanding lead before Adrian Butzke pulled one back for the Pacenses in the 61st minute.
Prior to that, Os Axadrezados failed to win any of their opening four games in February, picking up just two points from a possible 12 since their 4-2 home victory over Portimonense on January 29.
Petit's men now return to the Estadio do Bessa, where they are unbeaten in the league since the turn of the year — claiming two wins and two draws — with their last defeat coming on November 11, when they were beaten 4-1 by league heavyweights Porto.
Boavista have now picked up eight wins, five draws and lost nine of their 22 matches to collect 29 points and sit eighth in the Primeira Liga table, four points and two places behind this weekend's visitors.
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Arouca, on the other hand, maintained their superb run of results on home soil last Saturday when they picked up a 2-0 victory over 10-man Casa Pia at the Estadio Municipal de Arouca.
In a game where Beni Mukendi received his marching orders, substitute Rafa Mujica turned in a performance of the highest quality as he broke the deadlock in the 81st minute before making sure of the result in the third minute of stoppage time.
Arouca have now won four of their five home matches since the turn of the year, scoring nine goals and keeping four clean sheets in that time, with a 3-0 loss against league leaders Benfica on January 31 being the exception.
While the Arouquenses are also unbeaten in seven of their last nine games at the Estadio Municipal de Arouca since September, they have struggled for results on the road, where they are winless in five consecutive matches across all competitions and have managed just one win in eight league outings.
Since their 2-1 victory at Moreirense in the Taca da Liga quarter-finals on December 22, Arouca have picked up two draws and lost three matches on the road, including January's 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Porto which saw their Taca de Portugal campaign come to an end.
While Armando Evangelista's men will be looking to end this dry spell, Friday's game sees them journey to the Estadio do Bessa, where they are winless in each of their last four visits, losing three and claiming one draw since January 2015.
Team News
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Boavista will take to the pitch without the services of former Watford forward Adalberto Penaranda, who is currently recuperating from a hamstring injury.
Off the back of a superb team display and victory against Pacos de Ferreira, Petit has no major reason to tinker with his XI, meaning that we could see a back four of Pedro Malheiro, Reggie Cannon, Rodrigo Abascal and Bruno Onyemaechi, with Rafael Bracali in goal.
Ibrahima Camara, Gaius Makouta and Sebastian Perez should retain their place in the centre of the park, while Gorre and Mangas should lead the attack once again, alongside in-form striker Njie, who has seven goals in his last nine matches.
Meanwhile, Arouca will be without the services of 27-year-old midfielder Tiago Esgaio, who is set to sit out his sixth consecutive game through injury.
Evangelista will also be unable to call upon the experience of 32-year-old Sema Velazquez, who is yet to make an appearance this year after picking up an injury in November's game against Feirense.
Brazilian forward Vitinho will also play no part in Friday's contest as he continues his long journey to full fitness after suffering a knee injury back in October.
Boavista possible starting lineup:
Bracali; Malheiro, Cannon, Abascal, Onyemaechi; Makouta, Perez; Gorre, Camara, Mangas; Njie
Arouca possible starting lineup:
Arruabarrena; Milovanov, Basso, Opoku, Correia; Ruiz, Soro, Simao; Dabbagh, Sylla, Antony
We say: Boavista 1-1 Arouca
Boavista and Arouca are currently separated by just four points in the top half of the table and we anticipate a thrilling contest between two sides who will be eyeing a place in Europe. While Arouca have struggled for results away from home, we predict that they will hold out for a share of the spoils against a Boavista side who are unbeaten in eight of their last nine league matches at home.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Joshua Ojele
