Preview: Estrela Amadora vs Moreirense - prediction, team news, lineups

Estrela Amadora aim to edge further clear of the Primeira Liga drop zone as they play host to out-of-sorts Moreirense at Estadio Jose Gomes on Saturday.

The Tricolores sit just two points above the relegation playoff place, while a downturn in results has seen the visitors from Moreira slip to eighth in the Portuguese top-flight standings.

Match preview

After enduring one of the division’s poorest starts — managing just one win from their opening nine league matches (D4, L4) — Estrela have shown signs of recovery in recent weeks, although progress has often stalled just as they appear ready to push on.

A double whammy of difficult away assignments can partly explain that pattern, with trips to reigning champions Sporting Lisbon and current leaders Porto accounting for the Tricolores’s only defeats in their last five outings.

Joao Nuno’s men had embarked on that run on a high, coming out on the right side of an eight-goal thriller at Casa Pia, before rescuing a point against Nacional, while a 3-1 victory over basement side AVS sits between those losses to heavyweight opposition.

Estrela did have something to cheer about on Monday’s trip to the Estadio do Dragao, in contrast to their 4-0 collapse at Sporting, although Abraham Marcus’s 63rd-minute equaliser lasted only three minutes as Porto eventually ran out 3-1 winners.

The Tricolores have now lost six of their opening 14 Primeira Liga matches, while winning three and drawing the other five, and have been reasonably decent in attack with 17 goals scored, though their defence has lagged behind with 22 conceded.

Home comforts have also been in short supply, with just two victories from seven league games in front of their own supporters, though, given their last such outing ended in victory, Estrela can approach this contest with optimism as they welcome an out-of-sorts Moreirense side.

Moreirense’s season appears to be unravelling, having gone from five wins in their opening seven league matches (L2) to just one victory in their last seven (D3, L4), and eight across all competitions when their disappointing Portuguese Cup exit is factored in.

That lone success came in a 2-0 triumph at Arouca, but Vasco Botelho da Costa’s men have since fallen to Braga, followed by consecutive draws against Famalicao and Estoril Praia, while last weekend’s result against Benfica added another unwanted layer to their struggles.

The Moreira-based club suffered their heaviest defeat in almost two years, shipping four unanswered goals against Jose Mourinho’s side, leaving Moreirense with a number of wrongs to rewrite ahead of Saturday’s trip to Amadora.

However, an unconvincing away record casts doubt over their ability to bounce back, with the visitors having won just two of their seven league games on the road this season, while four defeats in that run further underline their vulnerability outside their own ground.

Recent history also offers little encouragement for Moreirense, who are winless in their last three meetings with Estrela, with the Green and Whites’s only defeat in that sequence coming on their most recent visit to Amadora.

Estrela Amadora Primeira Liga form:

Estrela Amadora form (all competitions):

Moreirense Primeira Liga form:

Team News

Alan Godoy has failed to make Estrela’s matchday squad in each of their last seven competitive outings, while Ryan Carlos has suffered a similar fate over roughly the same period, and both are expected to remain sidelined.

Guilherme Montoia is touch-and-go after missing the previous two matches, while Semeu Commey and Gabriel Miranda Rodrigues (Ni), both of whom have not featured this season due to injury, are expected to continue their spells on the sidelines.

With his goal last time out, Marcus has now found the net in back-to-back appearances and will look to carry that momentum into the weekend, where he is likely to feature on the flanks once again alongside Kikas and Alex Sola, who impressed on his full debut.

For Moreirense, club top scorer Guilherme Schettine, with eight Primeira Liga goals this season, will be looking to rediscover his scoring touch after failing to find the net in his last two outings.

After the defensive collapse last weekend, it would not be a surprise if Da Costa rings the changes at the back, with Marcelo potentially returning to the starting lineup after two straight matches as an unused substitute.

Alanzinho will return to contention in midfield after serving a suspension and is likely to line up alongside Mateja Stjepanovic and Benny, particularly with Vasco Sousa ruled out through injury.

In a repeat of his earlier misfortune this year, the on-loan midfielder has suffered another setback involving his fibula and has undergone surgery, meaning he is set for another lengthy spell on the sideline.

Other expected absentees include Lawrence Ofori (abductor) and Yan Maranhao, who is set to miss a fifth consecutive match due to physical discomfort, while Joel Jorquera could also be unavailable for a fourth straight outing.

Estrela Amadora possible starting lineup:

Ribeiro; Patrick, Otavio, Schappo; Stoica, Moreira, Ngom, S Cabral; Sola, Kikas, Marcus

Moreirense possible starting lineup:

Ferreira; Pinto, Marcelo, Maracas, Kiko; Alan, Stjepanovic, Benny; Travassos, Schettine, Araujo

We say: Estrela Amadora 2-2 Moreirense

While Moreirense have struggled in recent weeks, Estrela do not appear well placed to fully capitalise on the visitors’ woes, with their own inconsistency and unconvincing home record tempering expectations.

As such, a score draw looks likely, particularly given both sides’ contrasting strengths and weaknesses at either end of the pitch, with Moreirense having scored 21 goals and conceded 24 across their 14 Primeira Liga matches this season.

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