Santa Clara vs Rio Ave prediction

Santa Clara have won six, drawn three and lost one of their ten Primeira Liga games so far, scoring 15 and letting in 6. That has them 4th on 21 points.

Their last six in all competitions read three wins, two draws and one defeat, at 1.2 goals scored and 0.7 conceded per game. Last time out they drew 1-1 with Alverca; before that came a 1-0 win at home to Famalicao and a 1-0 win away at Academico Viseu.

Santa Clara are unbeaten in four. They have scored in each of their last four. Three clean sheets in that spell. At home they've won two of three recently (5 scored, 2 conceded).

So far in the Primeira Liga, Rio Ave have won two, drawn one and lost seven of ten, with 9 goals scored and 23 conceded, good for 16th place and 7 points.

Over the last six matches it has been one win, one draw and four defeats, averaging 0.7 goals for and 2.0 against. Last time out they lost 4-0 to Sp Lisbon at home; before that came a 2-0 win away at Estoril and a 2-0 defeat at home to Porto.

They failed to score in three of those games. On the road they've won one of three recently (3 scored, 2 conceded).

Home and away form points to Santa Clara: Santa Clara have won two of their last three at home, Rio Ave one of their last three on the road. 14 points separate the two sides in the table. Santa Clara also have the better goal difference over recent weeks.

We make Santa Clara favourites at 50%, with Rio Ave on 22% and the draw at 28%. They're favoured rather than expected to stroll it.

On goals, it expects around 2.5 in the game: 1.5 for Santa Clara and 1.0 for Rio Ave. Over 2.5 goals is 45% and both teams scoring 49%. When they last met, on 11 Apr 2026, Rio Ave won 2-0.