In their first encounter since both gaining promotion to the top flight, Casa Pia and Rio Ave go head to head at the National Sports Center of Jamor in round 11 of the Primeira Liga on Sunday.

The Vilacondenses head into the weekend without a win in their six away games across all competitions this season and will be looking to end this dry spell.

Match preview

Casa Pia were condemned to a second consecutive league defeat last weekend when they were beaten 3-1 by Sporting Lisbon at the Estadio Jose Alvalade.

After falling behind to Clayton's 43rd-minute strike, Ruben Amorim's side mounted an impressive second-half comeback courtesy of goals from Paulinho, Nuno Santos and Pedro Goncalves.

Prior to that, Filipe Martins's men saw their six-game unbeaten streak come to an end on October 9 when they fell to a 1-0 home defeat at the hands of Vizela courtesy of Raphael Guzzo's 67th-minute winner.

Sandwiched between the two defeats, Os Gansos secured their place in the fourth round of the Taca de Portugal on October 16 when they saw off lower-tier side Sao Martinho 2-0 away from home.

Casa Pia have picked up five wins, two draws and lost three of their 10 matches this season to collect 17 points and sit fifth in the Primeira Liga standings, level on points with sixth-placed Vitoria de Guimaraes.

Rio Ave, on the other hand, returned to winning ways last Monday as they saw off 10-man Portimonense when the sides squared off at the Estadio dos Arcos.

Luis Freire's men grabbed a numerical advantage in the 30th minute when Fahd Moufi received his marching orders before Emmanuel Boateng scored the only goal of the game on the stroke of half time to condemn the visitors to their fifth defeat of the season.

Rio Ave had lost their previous two outings, suffering a 4-2 defeat at Benfica on October 8 before falling to a 3-2 extra-time loss against third-tier Oliveira Hospital eight days later which saw their Taca de Portugal campaign come to an end.

The Vilacondenses have picked up 12 points from their 10 league outings so far to sit 12th in the Primeira Liga standings, but could potentially rise as high as eighth-placed Estoril Praia with all three points this weekend.

While Rio Ave will be looking to secure successive victories for the first time this season, they have struggled for results on the road, claiming three draws and losing three of their six away games across all competitions.

Team News

Casa Pia will be without the services of 31-year-old striker Carnejy Antoine, who is yet to feature this season after picking up an injury back in July.

Anderson Cordeiro is back in contention for the hosts after the Brazilian midfielder missed the trip to Sporting Lisbon last weekend due to suspension.

With his strike against the Leoes, Clayton now has three goals in his last five matches and we expect the 23-year-old forward to spearhead the Casa Pia attack once again.

Boateng has also been on song for Rio Ave, netting three goals in his last four outings, and the former Dalian Pro striker should form a two-man front line with Aziz.

Off the back of keeping a second clean sheet in three league matches, Freire could name an unchanged back three of Josue Sa, Aderllan Santos and Patrick William, with Jhonatan standing between the sticks.

Casa Pia possible starting lineup:
Batista; Varela, Fernandes, Nunes; Soares, Taira, Baro; Lelo, Kunimoto, Clayton, Godwin

Rio Ave possible starting lineup:
Jhonatan; William, Santos, Sa; Costinha, Baeza, Guga, Samaris, Amaral; Aziz, Boateng

We say: Casa Pia 1-0 Rio Ave

Rio Ave completed the league double over Casa Pia when the sides met in the Segunda Liga last term and will be looking to pick up where they dropped off. However, the hosts have been decent on home turf this season and we are backing them to hold out for a narrow victory.

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