AVS could leapfrog Rio Ave in the Primeira Liga table if they win Saturday's gameweek five fixture at Estadio Clube Desportivo das Aves.
The hosts' first taste of top-flight football has brought mixed results, although they notched a success in their last home match and look to avoid defeat in front of their supporters for a third game running.
Match preview
Although it is still too early to reach conclusions, AVS have seemingly been hard to beat on home soil while struggling for results on their travels.
A 2-1 defeat by Santa Clara before the international break was the second away loss suffered by Vitor Campelos's men since gaining promotion — following a 4-2 reverse at Gil Vicente in round two — but the contrast in results on home soil has been unmistakable.
Their four points accrued have come in Aves, with a 1-1 opening-day draw with Nacional followed by a marginal triumph against Vitoria Guimaraes in gameweek three.
Making their home ground a fortress could be pivotal in avoiding immediate relegation to the second tier, and AVS hope to extend their undefeated sequence this weekend.
They have reason to be optimistic given Rio Ave's winless away record in 2024-25, even if a closer look shows both losses have come at defending league champions Sporting Lisbon (3-1) and possible title contenders Porto (2-0).
With those fixtures out of the way, Luis Freire hopes his team secure their first road victory this term as Vilacondenses aim to build on home wins against Farense and Arouca.
One of two obstacles to that outcome might be the low-scoring nature of the ninth-placed hosts, who have found the net three times across four league games so far — both victories on their turf have been 1-0 — the other being a wretched record on their travels.
Rio Ave have been winless on their travels since beating Santa Clara 2-0 in March 2023, with that victory the club's only road success since the start of last year.
The Vila do Conde outfit have played 29 matches in that period, underscoring their struggles for success away from Estadio dos Arcos, and it remains to be seen if they notch maximum points against a newly promoted side.
Team News
Lucas Moura (shoulder) and Vasco Lopes (Achilles) are AVS' reported absentees for Saturday's fixture.
Nene scored the match-winning strike in the home side's last match in front of their fans, and the forward hopes to be instrumental in this weekend's outcome.
Rio Ave have no reported absentees heading into this weekend's visit to Estadio do CD das Aves, giving Freire a healthy squad to select from.
Having scored two of his side's three goals this term, albeit from penalties, Clayton hopes to add to his league tally in round five.
AVS possible starting lineup:
Simao; Alaba, Devenish, Roux, Kiki; Piazon, Grau, Lucca; Mercado, Nene, Veiga
Rio Ave possible starting lineup:
Jhonatan; William, Santos, Panzo; Bondoso, Oudrhiri, Novals, Richards; Morais, Clayton, Pohlmann
We say: AVS 1-1 Rio Ave
Excluding this season's expected losses to Sporting and Porto, Rio Ave have typically found ways to avoid losing on their travels despite the failure to win on the road in 2023-24.
Having played out six consecutive draws to end the previous campaign, another stalemate is likely against an AVS side that have been hard to play against on their turf.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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