Week 18 features a match on Tuesday Jan 31st, where Arouca will play host to Benfica in a meeting of these two closely matched Primeira Liga teams. Weather on match day is looking like a cloudy and cold day, with daytime temperatures of only 4 degrees, which will make playing unpleasant. In their last match, 6th placed Arouca, recorded a 4-0 shutout win against Portimonense. Oday Dabagh struck first for Arouca in the 6th minute, then Alan Ruiz added another in the 32nd minute on a feed from Martins Lafuerte Nunes At the end of 90 a dissapointed Portimonense couldn’t manage to score, and Arouca took the shutout win. With 18 points in their last 10 matches Arouca should be reasonably happy with their performance, while in their last match, 1st placed Benfica, recorded a 2-0 shutout win against Paços de Ferreira. Álex Grimaldo struck first for Benfica in the 7th minute, then João Mário added another in the 11th minute At the end of 90 a dissapointed Paços de Ferreira couldn’t manage to score, and Benfica took the shutout win. Benfica is on a hot streak lately, having won 8 of their last 10.
In their last match on Friday Aug 5th, Benfica was victorious by a score of 4 to 0. Moraes Junior struck first for Benfica in the 8th minute, then Rafa Silva added another in the 42nd minute In the end, Arouca was frustrated by Benfica’s defence and couldn’t put any tallies on the board. Benfica ended the match with the shutout victory.
Goncalo Matias Ramos has been the most prolific scorer on Benfica in his last five matches with three goals. Arouca is fortunate enough to have Oday Dabagh in top form. In the last 5 matches the defender has scored four goals.