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

Moreirense and AVS draw the curtain on their Primeira Liga campaign when they lock horns in the season finale at the Parque de Jogos Comendador Joaquim de Almeida Freitas on Saturday.

While Os verdes e brancos have struggled for results down the final stretch of the season, the already-relegated visitors have turned a corner of late in recent weeks and will look to go down swinging.

Match preview

Moreirense endured another disappointing outing on their travels on Monday when they fell to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of relegation-battling Tondela at the Estadio Joao Cardoso.

Needing all three points to keep their survival hopes alive, Tondela took a deserved lead in the 18th minute thanks to a close-range finish from Makan Aiko, before veteran forward Rony Lopes doubled the advantage with a superb left-footed curler in the 60th minute.

Moreirense have now failed to taste victory in five consecutive away games, losing three and claiming two draws, and have managed just one win from their eight games on the road since beating AVS 2-0 in January’s reverse fixture.

Vasco Costa’s men have lost 15 of their 33 Primeira Liga matches this season while claiming 12 wins and six draws to collect 42 points and sit eigth in the league standings, level on points with seventh-placed Vitoria de Guimaraes.

Home comfort awaits Moreirense, who will be backing themselves to close out the season on a positive note, having won their last two matches in Moreira de Conegos, beating Estoril Praia 1-0 on April 20, two weeks before claiming a 3-2 victory over Estrela Amadora.

In what has been a commendable late-season run, nine of AVS’s 20 points in the league have come in their most recent five matches, including three points in a surprise 3-1 victory over crowned champions Porto last Sunday.

Eight days on from a 2-1 victory over Nacional to secure their first win since February 21, a brace from 27-year-old midfielder Ronj and Aderllan Santos’s 80th-minute strike saw AVS end a three-game losing streak against the Dragoes.

Joao Henriques’s side have now gone five consecutive games without defeat, picking up two wins and three draws to equal their longest run of games without defeat since playing out five straight stalemates between December 2024 and January 2025.

However, the Vila das Aves outfit’s resurgence has come too late to alter their fate, as they sit rock-bottom in the table and nine points away from the relegation playoff spot, bringing their brief two-year stint in the top flight to an end.

Chasing a third consecutive victory as they look to go down with their heads held high, AVS are up against an opposing side whom they have failed to get the better of in their last four meetings, losing three and claiming one draw since January 2025.

Moreirense Primeira Liga form:

AVS Primeira Liga form:

Team News

Moreirense will have to cope without Brazilian defender Maracas, who is suspended after picking up a straight red card late in the game against Tondela last time out.

In his absence, 22-year-old Gilberto Batista should come into the fold for his 21st league start, forming the back four with Fabiano Souza, Kevyn Monteiro and Paraguayan full-back Daniel Rivas.

On the injury front, the Portuguese duo of midfielder Vasco Sousa and 25-year-old defender Dinis Pinto are recuperating from leg and muscle injuries respectively, while Palmeiras loanee Michel Augusto has been ruled out since January through a muscle problem.

Meanwhile, Antoine Baroan will play no part in this weekend’s matchup, with the AVS striker ruled out since coming off injured in the Taca de Portugal clash against Sporting Lisbon back in February.

Brazilian defender Mateus Pivo was forced off injured shortly after half time against Porto last time out and the 28-year-old is also out of contention for the trip to Moreira de Conegos.

Moreirense possible starting lineup:

Caio; Fabiano, Monteiro, Batista, Travassos; Assis, Rodri; Landerson, Stjepanovic, Bondoso; Alanzinho

AVS possible starting lineup:

Adriel; Rivas, Vitor, Devenish, Galletto; Akinsola, Lima, Roni, Mendonca; Neiva, Duarte

We say: Moreirense 1-0 AVS

AVS have turned their fortunes around at the tail end of the season, and while their resurgence has come too late to change their fate, they will take pride in their recent performance. Moreirense have blown hot and cold in recent weeks, but they boast the individual class on paper, which should just about see them get the better of a spirited AVS side.

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