The action continues in round 26 of the Portuguese Primeira Liga as Arouca and Estoril Praia go head to head at the Estadio Municipal de Arouca on Sunday.
Estoril will head into the weekend looking to complete the double over the home side, having cruised to an emphatic 4-1 victory in October's reverse fixture.
Match preview
Arouca picked up three huge points in their push away from the danger zone as they snatched a 1-0 victory over AVS when the two sides squared off at the Estadio do Desportivo das Aves last Saturday.
In an action-packed contest, veteran goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa turned in a solid individual display as he made several big saves to keep AVS in the contest but Tiago Esgaio broke the deadlock in the 89th minute to hand the visitors a last-gasp victory.
Arouca had failed to taste victory in any of their previous four outings, playing out three back-to-back stalemates before suffering a 2-0 home defeat at the hands of Porto courtesy of goals in either half from Samu Aghehowa and Fabio Vieira on March 1.
With last weekend's victory, Vasco Seabra's side have now gone unbeaten in all but one of their last 10 games — picking up four wins and five draws — having lost six of the eight matches across all competitions preceding this run.
This turnaround has seen Arouca pull clear of the relegation zone as they currently sit 12th in the Primeira Liga table with 28 points from 25 matches, level on points with 11th-placed Moreirense and five above the dreaded bottom three.
Over in Lisbon, Estoril Praia were left spitting feathers last time out as they were held to a 2-2 draw by Farense after giving up a two-goal lead in the final nine minutes at the Estadio Antonio Coimbra da Mota.
Following a relatively uneventful first half, Vinicius Zanocelo and Alejandro Marques scored in a four-minute spell to put the hosts in pole position but Rui Costa halved the deficit in the 85th minute before Miguel Menino struck in the fourth minute of stoppage time to force a share of the spoils.
Prior to that, Estoril Praia saw their run of eight consecutive games without defeat come to an end on March 3, when they suffered a 3-1 loss against league leaders Sporting Lisbon at the Estadio Jose Alvalade.
Ian Cathro's men picked up nine wins from their 25 Primeira Liga matches so far while losing eight and claiming eight draws to collect 35 points and sit eighth in the league table, but they could move level with sixth-placed Vitoria de Guimaraes with all three points this weekend.
However, Estoril will need to show their mettle at the Estadio Municipal de Arouca, where they have failed to win seven of their most recent eight visits — losing six and claiming one draw — with a 2-0 victory in August 2021 being the exception.
Team News
Arouca will take to the pitch without the services of Croatian defender Nino Galovic, who continues his lengthy spell on the sidelines after suffering a severe knee injury in August.
Spanish midfielder Pablo Gonzalbez has missed each of the last two matches since coming off injured against Farense on February 23 and the 23-year-old is a major doubt for the home side.
As for Estoril Praia, Kevin Boma is out of contention for this weekend's clash due to a one-game suspension after crossing the yellow card threshold with his booking against Farense last time out.
In his absence, veteran defender Eliaquim Mangala will push for his fifth start in the league, forming the back three with 24-year-old Felix Bacher and club captain Pedro Alvaro.
Marques netted his eighth league goal for the season against Farense last time out and the Venezuelan striker should lead the Canarinhos' attack once again, teaming up with Zanocelo and Rafik Guitane once again.
Arouca possible starting lineup:
Mantl; Esgaio, Fontan, Lamba, Weverson; Simao, Fukui; Trezza, Jason, Sylla; Nandin
Estoril Praia possible starting lineup:
Robles; Mangala, Bacher, Alvaro; Amaral, Holsgrove, Orellana, Carvalho; Zanocelo, Marques, Guitane
We say: Arouca 2-2 Estoril Praia
After a turbulent first half of the season, Arouca have put together a fine run of form in recent weeks and will be looking to secure back-to-back victories for the second time this year. However, Estoril have proven tough to crack in recent weeks and we predict that they will do just enough to force a share of the spoils.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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