MX23RW : Thursday, June 13 08:17:26| >> :600:1083845:1083845:
[monks data]
Portimonense
Primeira Liga | Gameweek 34
May 27, 2023 at 6pm UK
Estádio Municipal de Portimão
Arouca

Portimonense
0 - 2
Arouca


Gonzalez (67')
FT(HT: 0-0)
Antony (49'), Ruiz (51')

Preview: Portimonense vs. Arouca - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Saturday's Primeira Liga clash between Portimonense and Arouca, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Portimonense and Arouca draw the curtain on their 2022-23 Primeira Liga campaign when they go head to head at the Estadio Municipal de Portimao on Saturday.

With fifth-placed Vitoria de Guimaraes facing title-chasing Porto, the Arouquenses head into the weekend knowing victory is paramount as they look to snatch a spot in Europe.


Match preview

Portimonense's Pedrao celebrates scoring their first goal on May 13, 2023© Reuters

Portimonense failed to arrest their poor late-season form as they suffered a 1-0 defeat against rock-bottom Santa Clara at the Estadio de Sao Miguel last Saturday.

Coming off a 5-1 hammering at the hands of Benfica, the Portimao outfit set out to restore their pride, but a first-half strike from Andrezinho was enough to hand Santa Clara their fifth win of the season.

Paulo Sergio's men have now gone four successive games without a win, picking up just one point from a possible four and conceding 11 goals since a 1-0 victory over Gil Vicente on April 23.

This poor run of form blew Portimonense's hopes of a top-half finish as they currently sit 14th in the Primeira Liga table, level on 34 points with 13th-placed Gil Vicente.

While the Alvinegros will be looking to end the season on a winning note, they face an Arouca side who have won four of their last five league meetings, with a 1-1 draw in December 2021 being the exception.

Arouca's Antony celebrates scoring their first goal with teammates on January 24, 2023© Reuters

Armando Evangelista's men picked up a hard-earned 1-0 victory over Chaves at the Estádio Municipal de Arouca last weekend to take their race for European football down to the wire.

After Steven Vitoria missed his first-half penalty to end the first half goalless, Ghanaian midfielder Morlaye Sylla made no mistake for the spot in the 63rd minute to hand the hosts a vital victory.

Arouca had lost their previous three matches on the bounce, conceding four goals and failing to find the back of the net in that period, having gone undefeated in eight straight games preceding that run.

With 51 points from 33 matches, the Arouquenses are currently sixth in the league standings, two points below fifth-placed Vitoria de Guimaraes in the Europa Conference League qualification spot.

Arouca head into the weekend knowing that victory could end their six-year absence from Europe as Guimaraes' last game pits them against a rampant Porto side, who are currently on a blistering 10-match winning streak.

Portimonense Primeira Liga form:

Arouca Primeira Liga form:


Team News

Arouca's Mateus Quaresma is shown a red card by referee Manuel Mota on August 5, 2022© Reuters

Ever-present defender Filipe Relvas, who has started 33 league matches this season, is a major doubt for Portimonense after combining off with a first-half injury in last week's defeat to Santa Clara.

In his absence, former AS Roma man Moustapha Seck should start at left-back, forming the defensive line with Park Ji-soo, Alemao and Sergio Conceicao.

As far as Arouca are concerned, Evangelista will be unable to call upon the Brazilian duo of striker Vitinho and defender Weverson, who are currently recuperating from injuries.

They are joined on the Arouquenses injury table by 24-year-old Oday Dabbagh, who has been sidelined since picking up a muscle injury in February's game against Casa Pia.

January signing Benji Michel, who joined from MLS outfit Orlando City, has missed the last two matches through injury and will also play no part in Saturday's crunch season finale.


Portimonense possible starting lineup:
Nakamura; Conceicao, Alemao, Park; Junior, Carlinhos, Mauricio, Seck; Matos, Gonzalez, Klismahn

Arouca possible starting lineup:
Arruabarrena; Esgaio, Basso, Opoku, Correia; Ruiz, Busquets, Simao; Antony, Mujica, Sylla


SM words green background

We say: Portimonense 0-2 Arouca

Buoyed by their dominant display against Chaves, Arouca go all out for an all-important win as they look to snatch a spot in Europe on the last day. The Arouquenses have enjoyed the better of this fixture and we fancy 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

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 1.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Over 1.5:data


ID:514653:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:collect10564:

Previews by email

Click here to get Sports Mole's daily email of previews and predictions for every major game!


Game History

How you voted: Portimonense vs Arouca

Portimonense
50.0%
Draw
0.0%
Arouca
50.0%
6
Collect / Create New Data
Share this article now:
Porto's Mateus Uribe celebrates scoring their first goal with teammates on April 7, 2023
Read Next:
Saturday's Primeira Liga predictions including Famalicao vs. Porto
>
Sports Mole Logo
Enter your email address to subscribe to Sports Mole's free daily transfer newsletter! Sent twice a day during the transfer window.
rhs 2.0
Euro 2024 fixtures header
Friday, June 14
 
8pm
Saturday, June 15
 
2pm
 
5pm
 
8pm
Sunday, June 16
 
2pm
 
5pm
 
8pm
Monday, June 17
 
2pm
 
5pm
 
8pm
Tuesday, June 18
 
5pm
Wednesday, June 19
 
2pm
 
5pm
 
8pm
Thursday, June 20
 
2pm
 
5pm
 
8pm
Group Stage
Spain
vs.
Italy
Friday, June 21
 
2pm
 
5pm
 
8pm
Saturday, June 22
 
5pm
 
8pm
Sunday, June 23
 
8pm
 
8pm
Monday, June 24
 
8pm
 
8pm
Tuesday, June 25
 
5pm
 
5pm
 
8pm
 
8pm
Wednesday, June 26
 
5pm
 
5pm
 
8pm
 
8pm
Saturday, June 29
Sunday, June 30
Monday, July 1
Tuesday, July 2
Friday, July 5
Saturday, July 6
Tables header RHS

Group A

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Germany Germany00000
2 Hungary Hungary00000
3 Scotland flag Scotland00000
4 Switzerland Switzerland00000

Group B

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Albania national flag Albania00000
2 Croatia Croatia00000
3 Italy Italy00000
4 Spain Spain00000

Group C

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Denmark Denmark00000
2 England flag England00000
3 Serbia Serbia00000
4 Slovenia Slovenia00000

Group D

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Austria Austria00000
2 France France00000
3 Netherlands Netherlands00000
4 Poland Poland00000

Group E

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Belgium Belgium00000
2 Romania Romania00000
3 Slovakia Slovakia00000
4 Ukraine Ukraine00000

Group F

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Czech Republic Czech Republic00000
2 Georgia Georgia00000
3 Portugal Portugal00000
4 Turkey Turkey00000


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!