Our prediction for this Taca de Portugal match:
Rio Ave
Match Time & Date:
23/12/2021
12:00 PM
Prediction: 2-1
Belenenses
Estadio do Rio Ave will host Thursday’s Taca de Portugal game between Rio Ave and Belenenses. Rio Ave’s main goal is to return to Primeira Liga, but they have big ambitions for the 2021/2022 Taca de Portugal campaign as well. The Liga Portugal 2 side set up a meeting with O Belem by beating Olhanense, and they are surely capable of beating the Primeira Liga outfit at home ground.
The visitors, on the other hand, are having a season to forget. Belenenses are stuck at the bottom of the Primeira Liga standings, with the team collecting no more than eight points in the process. O Belem are on a four-game losing run in the national championship, and seeing that Rio Ave are a real force to be reckoned with, we do not believe that the visitors are capable of booking their place in the Taca de Portugal quarter-finals.
Highlighted Player (Pedro Nuno ):
After spending his youth career at the likes of Buarcos, Naval, Benfica, and Academica, Pedro Nuno continued playing for the Briosa at the senior level. Pedro Nuno scored five goals in 25 appearances for Academica in the league, which persuaded Benfica chiefs to sign him on November 28, 2016.
The Portuguese midfielder, though, was immediately sent on loan to Tondela, where he scored four goals in 45 appearances for the club. In 2018 Pedro Nuno moved to Moreirense, and he has been playing for Os verdes e brancos ever since. He made his Primeira Liga debut with Moreirense on August 11, 2019, in a 3-1 away loss to Sporting Braga.
Pedro Nuno was born in Buarcos, Portugal, on January 13, 1995, and he wears the number 27 jersey at Moreirense. His primary position is left winger, but he is used as both second striker and attacking midfielder. Pedro Nuno has yet to make his debut with the Portugal senior team.
Highlighted Team (Belenenses):
Founded on September 23, 1919, Belenenses are a Portuguese club that host their rivals at Estado do Restelo. The stadium can hold up to 19,856 spectators and it was built in 1956. O Belem play home games in blue shirts and white shorts and white is the dominant colour of their away kit.
By beating the likes of IFK Goteborg and Rheindorf Altach Belenenses booked their place in the Europa League group stages in the 2015/2016 season. Despite defeating Swiss side Basel in their group, the Portuguese club eventually finished the process in the last position in the standings.
The Estado do Restelo outfit did well to win the Primeira Liga trophy in the 1945/1946 season, with the team finishing the season only one point clear of second-placed Benfica. Speaking of the Portuguese Cup, Belenenses clinched their third Taca de Portugal trophy in the 1988/1989 season. Vitor Godinho is the player with most appearances for the club (272).
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