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Sports Mole previews Monday's Primeira Liga clash between Rio Ave and Porto, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Porto will hope to prevent the gap at the top of the table from widening on Monday when they travel to Estadio do Rio Ave Futebol Clube where they take on 11th-placed Rio Ave in the Primeira Liga.

The hosts have 23 points and emerged as 2-1 victors against Farense on January 25, while Porto were held to a 1-1 draw by Santa Clara on January 26 and are third with 41 points, six fewer than league leaders Sporting Lisbon.

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Match preview

Rio Ave edged a close match against Farense, producing 1.38 non-penalty xG compared to their opponents' tally of 1.28 non-penalty xG.

Head coach Armando Goncalves Teixeira has only been in charge since November 7, and he has overseen six wins in his 11 games in charge, as many as the club had managed in their prior 25 outings.

The Vilacondenses will hope to do better against Porto than they did in the sides' first clash this term on August 24 given they produced no shots, faced seven big chances and eventually lost 2-0.

Rio Ave's overall form is fairly strong considering they have won three, drawn one and lost just one of their past five fixtures, and they have also achieved two victories in their last four Primeira Liga games.

It should be said that the hosts have proven difficult to beat at home for some time, with the club's defeat against Sporting Lisbon on January 18 their only loss at Estadio do Rio Ave Futebol Clube in their 21 most recent games at the stadium.

Porto only faced 0.04 xG, one shot on target and one attempt from inside the penalty area against Santa Clara but needed Otavio to score an equaliser in the 76th minute to rescue a point after having trailed since the 33rd minute.

Caretaker boss Jose Tavares will undoubtedly be alarmed by his side's offensive displays in the past weeks given his team have only found the back of the net three times in their last six games, failing to score on three occasions.

The Dragons managed to beat Maccabi Tel Aviv 1-0 on Thursday in the Europa League, and the win was enough to qualify for the round of 16 playoffs, with a two-legged tie against Roma awaiting them later in February.

Porto's win against Maccabi Tel Aviv was also their first clean sheet in six outings, though their record of 15 goals conceded in the Primeira Liga is only one more than Sporting Lisbon and Benfica have conceded, making them the third-best defensive club in the top flight.

Tavares's side are in poor form having been beaten in four of their last six games, drawing one and winning one in that time.

The visitors have been less than stellar on their travels considering they have succumbed to defeat in six of their 10 most recent away matches, emerging victorious on just two occasions.

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Team News

Rio Ave will be without centre-back Jonathan Panzo until the middle of this month, so perhaps Andreas Ndoj and Francisco Petrasso will play in central defence.

Demir Ege Tiknaz started as the deepest of a midfield trio against Farense, and he could do so again on Monday, with Ole Pohlmann and Brandon Aguilera stationed ahead of him.

Striker Clayton scored last time out, and he will likely be supported by wingers Kiko Bondoso and Tiago Morais.

As for Porto, Joao Mario, Tiago Djalo, Otavio and Francisco Moura could start in a back four given defenders Ivan Marcano and Martim Fernandes have been ruled out.

Midfielder Marko Grujic will not be in the XI due to a muscle injury, and his enforced absence may lead Tavares to select Alan Varela and Vasco Sousa in a double pivot.

Elsewhere, Fabio Vieira may play in an advanced position behind striker Deniz Gul, while Goncalo Borges and Wenderson Galeno could start in wide roles.

Rio Ave possible starting lineup:
Miszta; Vrousai, Petrasso, Ndoj, Richards; Pohlmann, Tiknaz, Aguilera; Bondoso, Clayton, Morais

Porto possible starting lineup:
Costa; Mario, Djalo, Otavio, Moura; Sousa, Varela; Borges, Vieira, Galeno; Gul

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We say: Rio Ave 1-2 Porto

Rio Ave will feel they can take advantage of Porto's recent woes in front of goal and frustrate the visitors on Monday.

However, Porto dominated the reverse fixture and must triumph if they are to have a realistic chance of winning the title, so it would not be surprising if the Portuguese giants found a way to win.


For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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