Following a lengthy break for the first-ever winter World Cup, the Portuguese Primeira Liga returns to action as Rio Ave and Maritimo square off at the Estadio dos Arcos on Friday.
Still licking their wounds from their respective Taca da Liga group-stage exits, both sides will head into the weekend in search of a morale-boosting result.
Match preview
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Heading into the month-long break, the goal for Rio Ave would have been to maintain their momentum and manager Luis Freire will be satisfied with his side's performance.
Following a 1-0 victory away to Arouca on November 12, the Vilacondenses kicked off their Taca da Liga campaign three weeks later when they saw off Maritimo 1-0 courtesy of a 90th-minute winner from Aderllan Santos.
However, they were condemned to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Sporting Lisbon on December 7 when goals from Goncalo Inacio and a second-half own goal from Emmanuel Boateng handed the Leoes all three points.
Rio Ave bounced back last time out as they saw off 10-man Farense 2-1 on home turf to finish second in Group B of the Taca da Liga, three points off four-time champions Sporting Lisbon, who finished as group winners.
While Freire's side might have suffered an early exit from the League Cup, they have put together a fine run of form ahead of their return to the Primeira Liga, where they are currently on a run of three wins from their last four outings.
Rio Ave also picked up three wins and kept clean sheets in their last three league matches on home turf and this string of impressive results saw them rise to 10th place in the Primeira Liga table just before the break.
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Maritimo, on the other hand, were sent crashing down to earth in their final league outing before the World Cup as they suffered a 1-0 loss against Vitoria de Guimaraes on November 14.
In that encounter, substitute Tiago Silva came off the bench to grab the only goal of the game at the Estadio Dom Afonso Henriques to hand the hosts their sixth win in seven matches across all competitions.
This was followed by a disappointing run in the Taca da Liga, where they lost each of their three matches — while also conceding eight goals and failing to find the back of the net — to finish rock bottom in Group B.
Maritimo must now find a way to stop the rot as they return to the Primeira Liga, where they have picked up just six points from a possible 29 to sit 17th in the league standings, five points off Famalicao just outside the relegation zone.
O Maior das Ilhas' underwhelming campaign has been owing to their struggles away from home, where they have managed just one win and lost eight of their 10 matches across all competitions this season.
However, Jose Manuel Gomes's side will fancy their chances of returning to winning ways as they take on a Rio Ave side against whom they are unbeaten in the last four league meetings between the teams, claiming three wins and one draw since a 2-0 loss in January 2019.
Team News
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Rio Ave will take to the pitch without the services of Venezuelan striker Jesus Ramirez, who will serve the last of his three-game suspension for picking up a straight red card in the cup game against Maritimo on December 1.
On the injury front, Freire will be unable to call upon the services of 26-year-old midfielder Joca, who has been out of action since suffering a severe knee problem in September's game against Braga.
Aziz has been a standout performer for the Vilacondenses this season and the Ghanaian, who has registered 11 goal involvements in all competitions this season, will certainly be one to keep an eye on.
As for Maritimo, Geny Catamo picked up a muscle injury back in October and the 21-year-old remains out of contention for the trip to the Estadio dos Arcos.
He is joined on the club's injury table by Italian forward Stefano Beltrame, who is set to miss his sixth straight match after coming off injured against Pacos de Ferreira on October 29.
Rio Ave possible starting lineup:
Jhonatan; Sa, William, Santos; Costinha, Guga, Gomes, Baeza, Vitor; Boateng, Aziz
Maritimo possible starting lineup:
Silva; Junior, Costa, Andrade; Winck, Mendes, Afonso, Brito; Xadas, Liza, Vidigal
We say: Rio Ave 2-0 Maritimo
Rio Ave have put together a fine run of form heading into this weekend and will be looking to pick up where they dropped off before the World Cup break. Freire's side take on an out-of-sorts Maritimo side who have struggled for results on the road and we are backing them to come away with all three points.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Joshua Ojele
