Rio Ave vs Pacos Ferreira Predictions

• Pacos de Ferreira have won only two of their 11 away games in the Primeira Liga this term.
• Rio Ave have lost only one of their previous seven home matches.
• Three of Rio Ave’s last four fixtures have featured under 2.5 goals.

Shot-shy Pacos in danger of relegation

While Rio Ave have their sights set on securing a Europa League qualifying berth in the Portuguese Primeira Liga, their opponents Pacos de Ferreira are on the fringes of relegation.

Pacos returned to the Portuguese top flight after promotion last season but have been hovering around the drop zone for most of the campaign, having taken maximum points from only six of their 24 league assignments.

Issues in the final third continue to haunt them – they have scored only 18 goals all season and have been particularly shot-shy on the road, firing blanks in six of their 11 away assignments.

That has translated into a poor record on the road with Pacos de Ferreira claiming only two wins from their 11 away matches this season, scoring only eight times.

Rio Ave tough to overcome on home soil

Rio Ave have been a better team on their travels this term, with six of their ten wins coming away from home, but they have nonetheless lost only three of their 12 encounters at the Estadio dos Arcos.

They are unbeaten in their last eight matches in the league, recording some impressive results along the way such as a 4-0 dismantling of Desportivo Aves and draws with Sporting Lisbon and FC Porto.

Ave’s Iranian striker Mehdi Taremi has scored eight goals in the Portuguese Primeira Liga this season and there’s no doubting their quality in the final third but their matches have been relatively low-scoring as a result of their strong defensive performances.

Low-scoring clash on the cards

Both teams have scored in only two of Rio Ave’s last seven home assignments in the league and, although Pacos de Ferreira have looked leaky at the back at times, their matches have also been fairly tightly contested.

Their 24 league fixtures have featured an average of 2.17 goals this term, enhancing the appeal of backing a low-scorer in which Rio Ave prevail.

In Pacos de Ferreira’s previous ten fixtures in the Portuguese Primeira Liga, they have failed to score on six occasions and scored more than two goals only once.

Given their shot-shy nature a win to nil for Rio Ave could be on the cards. Two of Rio Ave’s last three home wins have finished 1-0 and that could be the way to go when it comes to a correct score prediction for this contest.