Porto vs Arouca predictions, betting tips & match preview

Porto haven’t had much success in the last couple of seasons, they’ve been surpassed by Benfica domestically. They are aiming to dethrone them and reclaim the Portuguese title, but they also have Sporting to rival for that honour. Can Nuno’s side move closer towards the top of the table by taking all three points against struggling Arouca?

The visitors are just outside the relegation zone, having taken just five points from their seven matches so far. With a record like that, there are much easier places to go than the Dragão. Porto will be hoping that Arouca maintain their awful record as they can’t afford to slip any further off the top as things stand. The bookies are clearly backing a home win, as they make the hosts 2/11 favourites.

That’s probably to be expected, seeing as Porto have one of Portugal’s hottest prospects right now. Andre Silva has been in lethal form for his club, earning himself a call up with the Euro 2016 winners. The young forward has struck up a partnership with Cristiano Ronaldo for the national side. He would have plenty of suitors if he decided to move on, but he’s enjoying life in Liga NOS, hitting five goals in seven matches. The striker has scored eight times in his last six for club and country, and he’s worth an any time scorer bet at 10/11 with bet365.

Not only are Porto scoring goals, they’re strong at the back too. They’ve scored 2.33 goals a game at home, and they’re conceding just 0.33 a match at the Dragão. Nuno’s side have restricted teams to under nine attempts on goal per game on average this term. They’ve conceded from just 6% of those shots. That should improve this weekend, as Arouca are a very poor side going forward.

Arouca have scored 0.33 goals per game on the road, while they’ve attempted just over seven shots per game away from their own ground. They convert just 4% of those chances, which looks awful when compared with Porto’s shot conversion rate of 14%. The visitors are unlikely to add to their five goals this season here, so we’re backing the home side to keep a clean sheet. Porto to win to nil is our tip for this one, which is 4/6 with bet365.