Wetin dey happen for Primeira Liga dis weekend na serious survival battle wey go hold for Estádio de São Miguel. Santa Clara go host Rio Ave for matchday 29, and both teams dey look for win to put some distance between dem and relegation zone. Na real crucial match wey go affect di table.
Di last time both teams meet for league, na 1-1 draw dem play for Rio Ave ground. Now, only two points dey separate dem for table, so dis match value don increase well well. Santa Clara dey come into dis game with three wins from dia last four matches before dem lose to Sporting CP. Dem win home games against Vitória S.C. and Gil Vicente, plus away win at AVS. Rio Ave sef get three straight league wins against Tondela, Estrela Amadora and Estoril before dem lose to Alverca. Dem start dat run with draw against Famalicão.
If you look di season trends, na tight balance you go see. Santa Clara don keep eight clean sheets and dem dey concede 1.2 goals per game. Rio Ave get four shutouts and dem dey concede 1.7 goals per game. Di hosts get aerial edge with 441 aerial duels won, and dem get stronger crossing output with 18.79% accuracy. Dis one fit be di route wey dem go use attack Rio Ave wey dey do plenty last-ditch work with 830 clearances.
Key threats for both teams dey clear. Vinicius dey lead Santa Clara with six league goals. For Rio Ave side, Clayton get 10 league goals, while André Luiz get seven goals and five assists. From penalty spot, Santa Clara don convert all six penalties dis season, but Rio Ave don concede only two.
If Santa Clara win dis match, dem go reach 31 points and dem fit pull further from di relegation play-off place. Rio Ave sef go move to 33 points with victory and dem fit consolidate dia mid-table cushion above drop zone. Petit go lead his Santa Clara side against his former club dis weekend as di Azoreans welcome Rio Ave to Estadio de Sao Miguel. Both teams dey sit close together for lower half of Primeira Liga table, with di hosts for 13th place, four points above relegation playoff spot and two behind di 12th-placed visitors from Vila do Conde.
Santa Clara see plenty positive streaks end last time out, but no be disgrace to lose away to defending champions Sporting Lisbon. Six goals come out for dat clash – di most of any fixture for dat matchday – as di Azoreans take early lead through Gustavo Klismahn before dem concede three unanswered strikes. Goncalo Paciencia late effort prove only consolation for 4-2 defeat.
Dat result end Santa Clara five-match unbeaten run (W3, D2), sequence wey include clean sheet victories for di last three. But no be lie say di upturn in fortunes don come since Petit arrival for early February. Di Portuguese manager don win two of his three home games in charge (L1), with dose successes ending six-match winless run at Sao Miguel (D1, L5). Dat improvement suppose give dem encouragement for dis weekend clash.
Like dia opponents, Rio Ave sef see momentum halt last weekend, as dem suffer 2-1 defeat to Alverca. Jalen Blesa second-half strike prove merely consolation after di Vila do Conde outfit don concede twice before interval. Dat loss end di Vilacondenses four-match unbeaten run, di final three of which be victories, but e still reflect positive spell for di side under Sotiris Silaidopoulos.
Di Greek manager – wey dem appoint at beginning of season after succeeding Petit – don see pressure mount during six-match losing streak between January 17 and February 22. Now e go aim to avoid another prolonged downturn. Back-to-back away victories give di visitors reason for optimism ahead of dis trip, especially with recent meetings between di sides appear evenly matched. Dem dey alternate between wins and losses across di previous four encounters.
But di last two clashes with Santa Clara don end level, including 1-1 draw for reverse fixture, leaving Rio Ave without victory for dia last three meetings with di Azoreans (D2, L1). Santa Clara go remain without defender Matheus Araujo, wey dey continue recovery from knee injury wey sideline am since late December. Petit don name di same starting XI for each of di last three outings and e fit retain dat setup despite recent defeat, with Welinton Torrao, Fernando and Gabriel Silva expected to lead di line.
For Rio Ave side, Brandon Aguilera Zamora remain di only confirmed absentee as e continue recovery from cruciate ligament injury, while Tamas Nikitscher be doubt after e limp off last time out. Winter signing Blesa don emerge as key attacking outlet for di Vilacondenses since his January arrival, scoring for each of his last four appearances and netting five times during dat spell. Di 25-year-old striker sef collect di league best forward award for March, and e dey come in confident mood as e spearhead Rio Ave attack dis weekend.
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