Arouca play host to Famalicao on Friday, in a showdown between the two teams at the foot of the Primeira Liga table.

While tables should not overly be looked into at this stage, the two sides have both lost their first two games of the season, and will be keen to put a win on the board on Friday.

Match preview

Despite occupying a mid-table spot for the majority of the campaign, an eye-catching run of nine straight wins from the final nine games saw Arouca break into third spot in Portugal's second tier after their relegation from the top flight in 2017.

That saw them square off against Rio Ave, who finished 16th in the Primeira Liga, in the playoff for a spot in the top flight, and goals from Pite, Jose Velazquez and Andre Silva gave them a dominant 3-0 win in the home leg before they finished the job and confirmed promotion with a 2-0 away victory.

The return to the top flight has not been straightforward for Armando Evangelista's men though, having lost their opening two league games after being dumped out of the Taca da Liga in the first round by Rio Ave.

Their Primeira Liga campaign started with a home game against fellow promoted side Estoril Praia, and an early Andre Franco goal meant the visitors led throughout, while Ryotaro Meshino worsened the damage with a second goal in the dying minutes.

Evangelista's men then took on Benfica away from home last time out and again fell to a 2-0 defeat as Luca Waldschmidt and Roman Yaremchuk got on the scoresheet in the first half.

While it was a comfortable victory for As Aguias, that result may provide some form of optimism for the newly-promoted side, as they were playing with 10 men for more than 80 minutes following Victor Braga's early red card and faced the unenviable task of a trip to a side heavily tipped for the league title this season.

As a result, they may be optimistic heading into Friday's game against another side who have lost both their opening two games.

Famalicao started the campaign commendably, picking up consecutive 1-0 wins over Feirense and newly-promoted Estoril Praia to progress to the third round of the Taca da Liga, but the winning run would be put to an end on the opening day of the season.

Ivo Vieira's side kicked off the campaign with a trip to Pacos de Ferreira, and quickfire goals from Lucas Silva and Nuno Santos early in the second half saw the hosts come out with a 2-0 win.

Fama then played host to 29-time Primeira Liga champions Porto, and they fought bravely, eventually losing 2-1 as Riccieli pulled a goal back after Antonio Martinez's first-half brace.

Similarly to their opponents, Vieira's men should take some positives from a tough battle against a title-chasing side and will be desperate to record their first points of the season on Friday.

Team News

Arouca come into Friday's game without first-choice goalkeeper Victor Braga, who will serve a suspension for the red card shown in the defeat to Benfica.

In his absence, Fernando Castro will start between the sticks after his resilient performance off the bench in that game.

Evangelista added to his squad this week with the loan signing of winger Tiago Araujo from Benfica, and he could come straight into the starting XI to inject some extra threat into the front line.

Famalicao saw crucial midfielder Manuel Ugarte depart for Sporting Lisbon recently, and Gustavo Assuncao may have to continue playing in the centre despite being a slight doubt through injury.

Ivo Rodrigues and Bruno Rodrigues will play key roles in the front line, while David Tavares offers attacking threat from the midfield.

Dylan Batubinsika and key man Riccieli should partner up at the heart of a back four, shielding Luiz Junior between the sticks.

Arouca possible starting lineup:
Castro; Thales, Velazquez, Basso, Quaresma; L Silva, Valderrama, Moreira; Bukia, A Silva, Araujo

Famalicao possible starting lineup:
Junior; Figueiras, Batubinsika, Riccieli, Lima; Pepe, Assuncao, Tavares; I Rodrigues, B Rodrigues, Geovani

We say: Arouca 1-2 Famalicao

Despite having a difficult start to the league season, we see Famalicao having enough quality to open their account for the season on Friday against the newly-promoted side.

Both teams could take encouragement from commendable showings last time out, and this could go either way, but we just lean towards the visitors given their top-flight experience.

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