Rio Ave v Arouca: mid-table breathing space meets survival fight | OneFootball

Rio Ave host Arouca in Liga Portugal on Saturday, 31 January 2026 at Estádio do Rio Ave Futebol Clube, with the hosts seeking breathing space and the visitors looking to stay clear of the relegation places.

The reverse fixture in August finished 3-3, and both sides remain in the lower half. Rio Ave are 12th on 20 points, while Arouca sit 15th with 17.

Form is fragile on both benches. Rio Ave lost their last two league games, 0-2 against Benfica and 4-0 at Nacional, after a 3-1 home win over Casa Pia. Arouca have one win in five, a 1-0 victory at AVS, alongside draws with Santa Clara and Gil Vicente and defeats at Tondela and at home to Sporting CP.

Defensive records point to an open contest if patterns hold. Rio Ave have conceded 35 league goals this season, Arouca 44. Up front, Clayton leads Rio Ave with 10 league goals, while Alfonso Trezza Hernandez has six for Arouca and Nais Djouahra five. Wide delivery could matter, with Arouca attempting 246 open-play crosses at 17.07% accuracy and Rio Ave 152 at 15.79%.

Set pieces have not been a primary route, with Rio Ave scoring once from dead balls and Arouca yet to register, so chances may again come in open play. If Rio Ave win, they would move to 23 points and could pull further from the bottom three. An Arouca victory would take them to 20 and could open daylight on the relegation play-off spot.