Seeking to make it 11 consecutive wins across all competitions, Porto square off against Arouca at the Estadio Municipal de Arouca in round 21 of the Primeira Liga on Sunday.
The Arouquenses, who have lost each of their most recent three home games, find themselves hovering just one point above the relegation zone and will be looking to end this dry spell.
Match preview
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Arouca were sent crashing back down to earth in the Primeira Liga last Monday when they were held to an uneventful goalless draw by fellow strugglers Famalicao at the Estadio Municipal de Famalicao.
In a game where clear-cut chances were at a premium, both sides were guilty of lethargic displays at the attacking end of the pitch before settling for a share of the spoils.
Prior to that, the Arouquenses ended their run of six games without a win courtesy of a 2-1 victory at Estoril Praia on January 27, when Andre Silva and Kouassi Eboue scored in the final 10 minutes to cancel out Abdoulaye Ba's sixth-minute own goal.
Arouca have now lost five of their last eight games across all competitions, and this has been in no small part owing to their struggles at the defensive end of the pitch, where they have managed just one clean sheet, while shipping 18 goals in that time.
With 18 points from 20 games, Armando Evangelista's men currently sit in 15th place in the Primeira Liga standings, just one point above Famalicao in the relegation playoff spot.
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Meanwhile, Porto maintained their charge for their 30th Primeira Liga title last Sunday when they claimed a 2-1 victory over a resilient Maritimo side at the Estadio do Dragao.
In a one-sided affair, Evanilson and Pepe scored to put the Dragoes in a commanding lead before 34-year-old Edgar Costa pulled one back for O Maior das Ilhas in the 53rd minute.
Porto, who are yet to suffer defeat in the league this season, have now won each of their last 10 games on the spin, scoring 27 goals and conceding seven since a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Atletico Madrid in the Champions League back in December.
This fine run of results has seen Sergio Conceicao's men strengthen their position at the summit of the Primeira Liga standings as they boast a six-point cushion over reigning champions Sporting Lisbon, who are currently in second place.
This has also been down to their superb performances at both ends of the pitch, as they boast the league's joint-best attacking record with 53 goals, while conceding the second fewest at the opposite end of the pitch with just 14.
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Team News
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Arouca will take to the pitch without the services of Brazilian goalkeeper Fernando Augusto, who has been out of action since picking up an injury in November's game against Sporting Lisbon.
He is joined on the Arouquenses' injury table by Jose Manuel Velazquez, who came off injured playing for Argentina against Venezuela when the sides met last September.
Twenty-three-year-old midfielder Moses Yaw is also out of contention for the Arouquenses as he continues his long journey to full fitness after picking up a severe injury last April.
Arouca completed the signing of Alan Ruiz from Arsenal Sarandi, but the 28-year-old will have to wait for his debut after picking up an injury back in October.
Meanwhile, Porto remain without the services of Wilson Manafa, who is set to miss his sixth consecutive game after sustaining a leg injury against Benfica on December 31.
Mateus Uribe is back available for selection having returned from suspension after receiving his marching orders in the game versus Famalicao two Sundays ago.
Evanilson has been on song for the Dragoes, scoring seven goals in his last six games, and we expect the 22-year-old forward to handle business at the attacking end of the pitch once again.
Arouca possible starting lineup:
Braga; Esgaio, Basso, Ba, Quaresma; Eboue, Nunes, L Silva, Bukia; Dabbagh, A Silva
Porto possible starting lineup:
D Costa; B Costa, Cardoso, Mbemba, Wendell; Vitinha, Uribe, Grujic, Pepe; Evanlison, Martinez
We say: Arouca 0-3 Porto
While Arouca will be looking to immediately return to winning ways, they face the stern test of going up against a rampant Porto side who appear simply unbeatable at the moment. Looking at the gulf in class and quality between the two sides, we anticipate Porto will come away with all three points unscathed.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Porto win with a probability of 80.21%. A draw had a probability of 13.5% and a win for Arouca had a probability of 6.29%.
The most likely scoreline for a Porto win was 0-2 with a probability of 14.09%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-3 (12.08%) and 0-1 (10.95%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (6.4%), while for an Arouca win it was 1-0 (2.49%). The actual scoreline of 0-2 was predicted with a 14.1% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 0-2 win for Porto in this match and our team at Sports Mole correctly predicted the win for Porto.
