Preview: AVS vs Benfica - prediction, team news, lineups

Having recently taken up the Benfica job, Jose Mourinho makes his return to the Portuguese Primeira Liga on Saturday when As Aguias visit the Estadio do CD das Aves to face AVS.

While it will be a memorable day for Mourinho, who is back at the helm of affairs after 25 years, the home side will aim to rain on his parade and secure their first win of the campaign.

Match preview

AVS added another to their string of disappointing results in the new Primeira Liga campaign last Saturday when they fell to a 3-1 defeat against Estoril Praia at the Estadio Antonio Coimbra da Mota.

Estoril turned in an impressive team display in front of their home supporters as Nodar Lominadze, Joao Carvalho and Ricard Sanchez all hit the target to put them in a commanding lead before Diogo Spencer struck in the 78th minute to give the visitors something to cheer for.

With last weekend’s result, AVS remain one of just four sides without a win in the Primeira Liga this season, with four defeats and one draw after the first five rounds of matches, while they have failed to taste victory in nine straight games (L7, D2) since a penalty-shootout win over Varzim in their first pre-season game back in July.

While it has been a challenging start to life at the helm of affairs for head coach Jose Mota, who has managed just two wins from eight matches since taking over in May, it is worth noting that he led the Vila das Aves outfit to triumph over Vizela in last season’s relegation/promotion playoff.

AVS' slow start to the campaign has been owing to their lapses at the back, where they have conceded 11 goals already, while netting four at the opposite end of the pitch — only Arouca (13) have shipped more goals in the league.

On the other hand, Benfica were left spitting feathers in their opening game of the Champions League on Tuesday when they fell to a 3-2 defeat against Qarabag after throwing away a two-goal lead at the Estadio da Luz.

Enzo Barrenechea and Vangelis Pavlidis netted inside the opening 16 minutes to put Benfica on course for a routine home victory, but Leandro Andrade and Camilo Duran hit back for Qarabag to level matters before substitute Oleksiy Kashchuk struck in the 86th minute to complete a shock comeback.

Coupled with a 1-1 draw against 10-man Santa Clara in the Primeira Liga on September 12, when they failed to make the most of their numerical advantage, the midweek Champions League defeat has resulted in Benfica parting ways with head coach Bruno Lage, bringing his one-year stint to an end.

With well-renowned tactician Mourinho leading the charge, As Aguias now return to action in the league, where they have enjoyed an unbeaten start to the campaign, picking up three straight wins over Estrela Amadora, Tondela and Alverca before last week’s stalemate against Santa Clara.

In fairness, it has been a relatively easy run of fixtures to start the campaign for Benfica, who are now up against an AVS side against whom they are unbeaten in their previous three clashes, claiming two wins and one draw while scoring a staggering 11 goals and conceding twice across the three games.

AVS Primeira Liga form:

AVS form (all competitions):

Benfica Primeira Liga form:

Benfica form (all competitions):

Team News

Veteran defender Aderllan Santos was forced off injured after just 10 minutes against Estoril Praia last weekend and the 36-year-old is a major doubt for this weekend’s clash.

Should he fail to shake off the injury, Brazilian centre-back Paulo Vitor should come into the fold, forming the back four with Sidi Bane, Cristian Castro and club captain Kiki Afonso.

As for Benfica, they head into the weekend with a relatively lengthy injury list as Jorge Silva (ACL), Nuno Felix (knee) and Bruma (Achilles tendon) all continue their spells on the sidelines.

Danish international Alexander Bah has been out of action since February through an ACL injury and will also sit out this weekend’s clash, while Dodi Lukebakio is yet to make his debut, following his summer move from Sevilla, due to a foot injury.

With his strike against Qarabag, Pavlidis now has five goal contributions in his last four games for club and country (G3, A2), and the Greek striker should lead As Aguias’ attack once again, alongside big-money summer signing Franjo Ivanovic.

AVS possible starting lineup:

Simao; Bane, Vitor, Castro, Afonso; Algobia, Ciscar; Perea, Lourenco, Akinsola; Tomane

Benfica possible starting lineup:

Trubin; Araujo, Silva, Otamendi, Dahl; Aursnes, Rios, Barrenechea, Schjelderup; Ivanovic, Pavlidis

We say: AVS 0-3 Benfica

Benfica will be out to restore some pride from losing their disappointing defeat against Qarabag in midweek and we expect them to go all out at the Estadio do CD das Aves.

As Aguias take on an out-of-sorts AVS side who have stumbled into the new campaign and we are backing Mourinho to mark his return to management in Portugal with a comfortable victory.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.