Seeking to pick up their first home win in eight games, Estoril Praia play host to Arouca at the Estadio Antonio Coimbra da Mota in round 18 of the Primeira Liga on Saturday.

The visitors, who are bottom but one in the league table, head into the game without a win in five consecutive games and will look to end this dry spell and pull clear of the relegation places.

Match preview

Estoril Praia were left empty-handed once again in the Primeira Liga as they fell to a disappointing 3-2 defeat at the hands of title-chasing Porto last Saturday.

After heading into the break with a two-goal lead through goals from Arthur Gomes and Andre Franco, the Canarinhos simply collapsed in the second half as Mehdi Taremi, Luis Diaz and Francisco Conceicao scored to turn the tie around and hand the Dragoes all three points.

Prior to that, Bruno Pinheiro's side saw their Taca de Portugal campaign come to an end courtesy of a 3-1 defeat against Tondela on December 21, before falling to a slender 1-0 loss at Moreirense one week later.

Estoril Praia head into Saturday's game without a win in six of their most recent seven games in all competitions, losing four and claiming two draws, while picking up a 1-0 win over rock-bottom Belenenses on December 13.

For all their recent struggles, the newly-promoted side are currently sixth in the Primeira Liga standings with 25 points from 17 games, one point off Gil Vicente in the final Conference League qualification spot.

Meanwhile, Arouca failed to find their feet last time out as they fell to a 2-1 defeat against Belenenses at the Estadio Nacional do Jamor.

In a game where Armando Evangelista's men finished with nine men, Nilton Varela and Abel Camara scored second-half goals to cancel out Oday Dabbagh's 37th-minute opener and turn the game on its head.

Prior to that, Arouca suffered a humiliating 6-0 home defeat at the hands of Braga on December 30, when Vitor Oliveira hit three goals in the first half to cap off a sensational individual performance.

The Arouquenses have now failed to taste victory in any of their last five games, losing five and picking up one draw, while conceding 15 goals since November's 2-1 win over Boavista.

This poor run has seen Arouca drop to 17th place on the log, one place above rock-bottom Belenenses and two behind Famalicao in safety, after picking up just 14 points from 17 games.

Team News

Estoril Praia will take to the pitch without the services of Lucas Africo after the Brazilian defender picked up a season-ending injury against Vizela back in November.

With his strike against the Dragoes, Franco now boasts 11 goal involvements in 17 league outings this season and the 23-year-old will definitely be one to keep an eye out for.

Meanwhile, Arouca head into the game with several absentees down the spine of the team as the likes of Sema Velazquez, Moses Yaw and Brazilian goalkeeper Fernando Augustine have all been sidelined through injuries.

Veteran midfielder Marco Soares is currently on international duty with Cape Verde at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations, while the duo of Andre Silva and Oday Dabbagh miss out due to suspension after both seeing red against Belenenses last time out.

The duo of Or Dosa and Gaston Matias Campi are also out of contention for the Arouquenses after recently testing positive for Coronavirus.

Estoril Praia possible starting lineup:
Silva; Bruno, Farraresi, Vital, Joaozinho; Loreintz, Gamboa, Franco; Gomes, Fonte, Laurenco

Arouca possible starting lineup:
Braga; Thales, Basso, Ba, Quaresma; L Silva, Eboue, Kouassi; Bukia, Nunes, Moreira

We say: Estoril Praia 1-1 Arouca

Both sides have struggled to get going in recent weeks and we expect them to take the game to each other in search of a morale-boosting win. However, we predict the spoils will be shared at the sound of the full-time whistle with the hosts ending their losing streak.

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