Belenenses and Arouca meet with different scoring patterns

CF Os Belenenses host Arouca in the Taça de Portugal Round of 64, with the sides bringing very different amounts of league evidence into the tie. Arouca’s measured numbers point to a team that creates chances but also allows them. For Belenenses, the clearest attacking clue is when their goals have arrived.

The Round of 64 gives CF Os Belenenses and Arouca a place in the next stage to pursue. Belenenses come into the tie with two matches recorded in their season figures. They have not failed to score in either, and one ended with a clean sheet. Their scoring-window figures show two goals, both between the 61st and 75th minutes.

Arouca’s season figures cover eight matches. They have four clean sheets, while their two failed-to-score matches both came away from home. That split gives the away setting particular relevance: Arouca have scored in every home match recorded, but not in every away one. The available figures offer no home-and-away results record for Belenenses, so the useful contrast is their two-match season sample against Arouca’s larger one.

There are no reported absences or club announcements for either side. The available team information therefore offers no player-specific minutes, goals or assists to weigh against the likely line-ups.

CF Os Belenenses’ most recent listed result was a 2-0 win away to Beira-Mar, following a 2-1 away win against Lusitano Évora 1911. Before those victories came a home draw with Estoril, then defeats to Benfica, Alverca and Estoril. The sequence has turned upwards at the latest end, but the six results include opponents from different competitions and no comparable chance figures for Belenenses.

Arouca’s latest listed match was a 1-0 home win over Estrela. Before that came a draw away to Sporting CP, a home defeat by Santa Clara, a goalless draw away to Estoril, a home win against Maritimo and a defeat away to FC Porto. In six measured matches, Arouca’s expected-goals figures were six for and 8.85 against, with an expected margin of minus 2.85. Their actual margin was minus one, so the results have been less negative than those chance figures suggest.

Arouca’s measured profile suggests a fairly even share of the ball rather than a side built around long spells of possession. They average 49.8 per cent possession and 10.8 shots per match, with 3.7 on target. Their pass accuracy is 83.5 per cent. The question is whether that work can produce clear chances: Arouca average one expected goal per match, against 1.48 expected goals against.

Belenenses’ two recorded goals both arrived between the 61st and 75th minutes, while they have not conceded in any of the scoring periods listed. That gives the later part of the match a particular point of interest, especially if Arouca’s attempts to create chances have not yet paid off. Arouca’s own scoring is spread across several periods, with their largest totals coming between the 46th and 60th minutes and between the 76th and 90th.

The available figures point to a team-level contest rather than a named individual duel. Arouca’s 4-2-3-1 was used in all five measured matches, while Belenenses’ clearest attacking pattern is its concentration of goals in one window. Arouca will want their shots to test Belenenses; the home side’s numbers make patience into the final quarter a theme to watch.

CF Os Belenenses and Arouca meet in the Round of 64 of Taça de Portugal. Kick-off is Sunday, 18 October 2026 at 19:45 PT.

Arouca’s next listed fixture is in Primeira Liga, 5.8 days after this match. That short gap is a scheduling factor for the visitors, though it does not say which players will feature in either game. The supplied fixture details give no specific next match for CF Os Belenenses, so the immediate focus for the home side is this cup tie.

The numbers suggest three clear threads to keep in view as CF Os Belenenses and Arouca meet. Each is tied to a pattern already visible in the teams’ figures.

• Whether Arouca can turn their average of 10.8 shots and one expected goal per match into pressure on Belenenses.
• Whether Belenenses’ scoring pattern between the 61st and 75th minutes appears again after their two recorded goals in that period.
• Whether Arouca’s away scoring record remains a concern, given that both of their failed-to-score matches came on the road.