Preview: Estoril Praia vs. Arouca - prediction, team news, lineups

Two sides in need of a morale-boosting win go toe to toe in the Portuguese Primeira Liga when Estoril Praia play host to Arouca at the Estadio Antonio Coimbra da Mota on Thursday.

The hosts head into the game on a run of four straight defeats across all competitions, while the visitors will be seeking to end their six-game winless streak.

Match preview

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Estoril Praia continue to struggle for form in their Primeira Liga as they bottled a one-goal lead and fell to a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Vitoria de Guimaraes at the Dom Afonso Henriques.

After heading into the break into the half-time break with a lead courtesy of Andre Franco's 29th-minute strike, Os Vimaranenses rallied after the break as Rochinha restored parity before Oscar Estupinan struck twice to turn the tie on its head.

Bruno Pinheiro's men, who have now failed to taste victory in each of their most recent five games across all competitions, head into Thursday's game on a four-game losing streak, including a 3-1 defeat against Tondela on December 21 which saw their Taca de Portugal campaign come to end.

Their recent struggle has been owing to their defensive frailties as they have shipped 16 goals in their last eight outings, managing just one clean sheet since a 5-0 win over Serpa on November 21.

With 25 points from 18 outings, Estoril Praia are currently seventh in the Primeira Liga standings, level on points with Portimonense and five points off the Conference League qualification places.

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Like the Canarinhos, Arouca were left empty-handed once again as they suffered a 2-0 loss to Benfica at the Estadio Municipal de Arouca last time out.

Darwin Nunez opened the scoring when he converted his 32nd-minute penalty to put As Aguias in front, and after Joao Basso failed to restore parity from the opposite penalty spot nine minutes later, substitute Goncalo Ramos struck in the 92nd minute to make sure of the result.

The Arouquenses are now without a win in each of their most recent six outings, losing five and picking up one draw since a 2-1 win over Boavista on November 27.

With 14 points from 18 games, Arouca are currently bottom but one on the log, two points below Famalicao just outside the drop zone and two above Belenenses, who are rooted to the bottom of the table.

This has been in no small part owing to their poor form on the road, where they are yet to pick up a win this season and boast the league's second-worst record with four points from nine games.

Team News

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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 Vitoria de Guimaraes last time out, Franco has now been involved in four goals in his last five games and the Portuguese midfielder will be one to keep an eye out for.

Meanwhile, Arouca's injury crisis remains the same heading into Thursday's game as they will have to make do without a few key players down the spine of the team once again

Brazilian goalkeeper Fernando Augusto and 23-year-old midfielder Moses Yaw are both recuperating from muscle injuries and are out of contention for the Arouquenses.

They are joined on the club's injury table by 31-year-old defender Jose Manuel Velazquez, who has been out of action since September due to a severe knee injury.

Veteran midfielder Marco Soares also misses out as he is currently on international duty with the Cape Verde squad at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations.

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; Eboue; Silva, Moreira, Bukia, Nunes; Dabbagh

We say: Estoril Praia 2-1 Arouca

Both sides have suffered a dip in form in recent weeks and we expect them to take the game to each other in search of a morale-boosting victory. However, Estoril Praia are unbeaten in their last eight home games against Arouca since 2010 and we are backing them to come out with a slender win on Thursday.

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