Santa Clara will be looking to secure consecutive league wins for the first time since the turn of the year when they visit the Estadio do Desportivo das Aves to face AVS on Saturday.
The home side, who currently sit one point above the bottom three, will be looking to snap their run of three back-to-back defeats against the Azoreans and pull clear of the danger zone.
Match preview
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AVS were sent crashing back down to earth in their battle for safety as they suffered a 2-0 defeat against Vitoria de Guimaraes at the Estadio Dom Afonso Henriques last Saturday.
Following a goalless first half, Vitoria de Guimaraes took full advantage of their numerical upper home following Gustavo Assuncao's 47th minute red card as Samu and Telmo Arcanjo hit the target to leave the visitors empty handed.
Prior to that, AVS snapped their run of 12 straight games without a win across all competitions on January 27, when they edged out Gil Vicente 1-0 at the Estadio do Desportivo das Aves courtesy of a second-half strike from John Mercado.
Daniel Ramos's men have now lost eight of their 20 Primeira Liga matches this season while picking up three wins and nine draws to collect 18 points and sit 15th in the league table, one point above 16th-placed Estrela Amadora in the relegation playoff spot.
This being their first-ever rodeo in the Portuguese top flight, having gained promotion through the playoffs last May, AVS' struggles has been owing to their inexperience as well as lack of firepower in attack, where they have netted 15 goals this term — only Boavista and Farense (13) have scored fewer.
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Over in Azores, Santa Clara turned in a resilient team display last weekend as they fought back from behind to secure a 2-1 victory over Casa Pia when the two sides squared off at the Estadio de Sao Miguel.
Nuno Moreira continued his hot streak in front of goal as he put Casa Pia in front three minutes before the half-time break but Matheus Araujo and Serginho netted in a nine-minute spell to turn the game on its head.
Vasco Matos's men have now gone unbeaten in four of their most recent five matches — picking up two wins and two draws — having lost each of the three matches across all competitions preceding this run.
Having gained promotion from the Segunda Liga last term, Santa Clara have picked up 35 points from their 20 Primeira Liga matches so far to sit fifth in the table, five points off fourth-placed Braga in the Conference League qualifying spot.
The Azoreans will be backing themselves to continue from where they left off against Cara Pia last time out as they take on an opposing side who have lost each of their previous three encounters, conceding six goals and scoring three since November 2023.
Team News
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AVS will take to the pitch without the suspended Assuncao, meaning 21-year-old Gustavo Mendonca could be handed his fourth league start, teaming up with Fernando Fonseca, Jaume Grau and Rafael Rodrigues at the centre of the park.
Lucas Moura continues his long journey to full fitness after picking up a severe shoulder injury back in March and the 20-year-old goalkeeper is out of contention for this weekend's clash.
Like the home side, Santa Clara will have to cope without Brazilian striker Vinicius Lopes, who is suspended after crossing the yellow card threshold with his booking against Casa Pia last time out.
In his absence, fellow countryman Matheusinho, who joined from Criciuma in January, will push for his first start for the Azoreans, forming the front three with Gabriel Silva and Gustavo Klismahn.
On the injury front, this weekend's visitors remain without Portuguese defender Pedro Pacheco, who continues his lengthy spell on the sidelines, having suffered a knee injury back in August.
AVS possible starting lineup:
Ochoa; Rodriguez, Teixeira, Devenish; Fonseca, Grau, Mendonca, Rodrigues; Mercado, Ribeiro, Ze Luis
Santa Clara possible starting lineup:
Batista; Lima, Rocha, Nunes; Soares, Araujo, Firmino, Calila; Matheusinho, Silva, Klismahn
We say: AVS 1-2 Santa Clara
Santa Clara picked up a hard-fought victory over Casa Pia last time out and will head into the weekend in high spirits as they continue their push for European football. AVS have struggled for consistency this season, and while we expect them to put up a fight, we are backing the visitors to come away with a narrow victory.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joshua Ojele
