Having endured a rough end to 2024, Moreirense and AVS will both be hopeful of improved fortunes in the new year as they kick off 2025 with a meeting at Parque de Jogos Comendador Joaquim de Almeida Freitas on Saturday.
This weekend's Primeira Liga clash will be the maiden meeting between the sides, and both of them will be hopeful of landing the first blow in the history of this fixture to help kickstart their respective campaigns.
Match preview
Not many sides can boast of beating Sporting CP and Porto in a two-week span, but Moreirense managed to do that when they knocked the latter out of Taca de Portugal on November 24 before beating Sporting 2-1 in the league 11 days later.
That was supposed to be the catalyst for a turnaround, but consecutive defeats against Nacional and Porto soon followed, after which Cesar Peixoto's men drew the curtain on 2024 with a 2-2 stalemate against Estoril.
Picking up just four points from the last 15 available, Os verdes e brancos have fallen off the pace massively in the race for the final European spot and now trail fourth-place Santa Clara by a whopping nine points.
Currently with the worst defensive record among all top-half teams, Moreirense have often been let down by their frailty at the back, which is something that needs addressing heading into the midway point of the season.
With a round-of-16 cup clash against Gil Vicente to follow this weekend's affair, the hosts will now set out to get back to winning ways in front of their fans, where they were unbeaten since April prior to December's 3-0 loss to Porto.
Navigating their first-ever season in the top flight, AVS have understandably had a rough start, but results now start picking up if they are to avoid dropping back down to the second tier of Portuguese football.
Off the back of five defeats in six matches between October 28 and December 1, Vitor Campelos's men managed to hold on for a share of the spoils in each of their final four outings of 2024—most recently a 1-1 stalemate against Estrela on Saturday.
A slow start to the contest from AVS was punished by Leo Cordeiro in the early exchanges of the first half, but Baptiste Roux popped up with his first goal of the campaign shortly after the interval to restore parity.
A tally of 14 points from 16 league games this term has the Primeira Liga debutants currently 14th in the standings, just one point clear of relegation danger ahead of the journey to Moreira de Conegos.
Saturday's visitors have a crunch six-pointer against Nacional Madeira in their next league affair after this weekend's encounter, and it is imperative they avoid losing any more ground in the battle for survival at the bottom.
Team News
Moreirense are set to be without the services of Guilherme and Hernani, who are both ruled out through knee injuries, with the latter still waiting for his first appearance since March.
Twenty-two-year-old Jeremy Antonisse has missed each of the hosts' last two matches due to a muscle problem but could be back in time to play a part here.
AVS' Cristian Devenish was handed his fifth yellow card of the season against Estrela and will serve a one-game suspension in this weekend's affair as a result.
The away side will also have to make do with the absence of Giorgi Aburjania and Issiaka Kamate as they nurse muscle and knee injuries respectively, while Lucas Moura is yet to fully recuperate from an injury.
Veteran goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa has made just seven appearances this term, having been sidelined since November, but the Mexico international is closing in on returning to action.
Moreirense possible starting lineup:
Caio; Frimpong, Maracas, Marcelo, Fabiano; Ofori, Tavares; Madson, Alan, Gabrielzinho; Schettine
AVS possible starting lineup:
Simao; Roux, Teixeira, Rodriguez; Fonseca, Grau, Silva, Akinsola; Lopes, Nene, Piazon
We say: Moreirense 2-1 AVS
Given their solid record on home turf, Moreirense are the favourites to come out on top, and the onus will be on them to take the fight to AVS.
We are backing the hosts to just about do enough to come away with maximum points at the end of the 90 minutes.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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