Either Léa-Sliki or Mor Ndiaye will feature in the middle of the park on Friday. Pedro Álvaro and Bernardo Vital should be paired at the heart of the defence once again as Lucas Áfrico remains injured Gonçalo Esteves will serve a match ban after being sent off last time out. Tiago Santos might replace him. Coach Luís Freire served a ban last time out and will return to the bench with all of his players available. Due to Rio Ave FC's recent performances, he's expected to ring the changes with the likes of Patrick William, Nóbrega, Zé Manuel and André Pereira expected to start.
There have been under 2.5 goals scored in Estoril's last 4 games (Liga Portugal). Rio Ave have won 5 of their last 6 away matches against Estoril in all competitions. Rio Ave have scored at least 2 goals in their last 4 away matches against Estoril in all competitions.
After a promising start, GD Estoril-Praia lost to Vitória SC last time out. That they played the final half hour with 10 men helps explain the defeat, but it was not the only factor as they lacked effectiveness up front. Despite returning to the top tier, Rio Ave FC were expected to do better than they've done so far. After losing at home to FC Vizela, they put in a poor performance against Sporting CP last weekend, losing 3-0 to the Lions. After two matches, they lost two matches and still haven't scored a goal. Neither team were convincing last time out, but GD Estoril-Praia looked more solid. With that in mind, and adding home factor to the mix, they're expected return to winning ways on Friday. 2:1