📊 Form Guide

Rio Ave

WLLLLW

Rio Ave, who won their previous game, will hope for a similar result following the 0-2 Primeira Liga triumph vs Moreirense.

In that game, Rio Ave had 52% possession and 10 attempts at goal with 4 of them on target. For Rio Ave, the scorers were Ege Tıknaz (72') and João Graça (90'). On the other side, Moreirense had 7 attempts on goal with 0 on target.

It has been all too rare in recent times where Rio Ave have managed to hold out for a full 90 minutes. In fact, Rio Ave have been scored against in 5 of their previous 6 matches, giving up 9 goals on the way. That kind of trend might not be sustained into this game, of course.

Going into this encounter, Rio Ave are without a win at home for the past 2 matches in the league.

Santa Clara

LDWWLL

After tasting defeat last time out to Sporting Lisbon in Primeira Liga competition, Santa Clara and their fans will hope to get a better result this time.

In that game, Santa Clara managed 37% possession and 10 shots at goal with 1 on target. On the other side, Sporting CP got 7 shots on goal with 4 of them on target. Geny Catamo (50') was the scorer for Sporting Lisbon.

It has become apparent that Santa Clara have made hard work of scoring goals over their previous six games, netting the disappointing return of only 3. In those matches, Os Açoreanos have also seen the overall goal tally of their opponents equal 5.

👥 Head to head

Looking over their most recent head to head clashes going back to 18/07/2020 shows that Rio Ave have won 2 of them and Santa Clara 3, with the tally of drawn games being 1.

12 goals were shared by the two clubs in these games, with 6 for Rio Grande and 6 belonging to Os Açoreanos. The average goals per game has been 2.

The last league meeting featuring the two was Primeira Liga match day 13 on 07/12/2024 which ended up with the score at Santa Clara 1-0 Rio Ave.

That day, Santa Clara managed 43% possession and 10 shots at goal with 4 of them on target. Their only player to score was Vinícius Lopes (36').

Rio Ave had 4 shots at goal with 2 of them on target.

The match was refereed by João Pinheiro.

📰 Team News: Rio Ave

It seems likely that Rio Grande could kick off with a 4-2-3-1 formation, handing starts to Cezary Miszta, Joao Tome, A. Ntoi, K. Kostoulas, Nelson Abbey, Demir Tiknaz, Brandon Aguilera, Andre Luiz, Joao Graca, Tiago Morais and Karem Zoabi.

ℹ️ Team News: Santa Clara

Santa Clara boss Vasco Matos has a number of players out of action. Wendel Silva (Injury to the ankle) and Pedro Pacheco (Knee injury) are not able to play.

It’s our belief that Os Açoreanos seem most likely to make use of a 3-4-3 formation, settling for Gabriel Batista, Sidney Lima, Frederico Venancio, Matheus Nunes, Lucas Soares, Pedro Ferreira, Adriano, Matheus Pereira, Gabriel Silva, Joao Costa and Ricardinho.

🧠 Prediction

We feel that over the course of the game, Rio Ave may not find it easy to hit the back of the net against this Santa Clara outfit who should end up scoring and staying ahead.

We’re therefore seeing a highly competitive game with a 0-1 winning margin for Santa Clara at the end of this one.

Should be interesting.

Lucas Pereira, 14:12 18/04/2025