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

Moreirense and Tondela will be out to secure back-to-back victories for the first time this year when they square off at the Parque Joaquim de Almeida Freitas in the Portuguese Primeira Liga on Sunday.

Os verdes e brancos recorded their first win since the first week of November in a dominant team display against AVS last weekend while Tondela made light work of Arouca on home turf to snap their run of three consecutive defeats.

Match preview

After weeks of mediocre results and a sour end to 2025, Moreirense finally stopped the rot in their first outing of the new year last Saturday when they picked a 2-0 home victory against AVS to rekindle their hopes of European football.

Diogo Travassos broke the deadlock in the 12th minute to put the visitors in front at the Estadio do Desportivo das Aves before Guilherme Schettine doubled their advantage with a close-range finish in the 50th minute.

This was a much-needed result for Moreirense, who failed to taste victory in their final five matches in 2025, claiming just three points from a possible 15, and were on a run of just one win in nine games across all competitions since the start of October.

Despite their recent struggles, Vasco Costa’s men remain in contention to secure European qualification this season, as they sit seventh in the Primeira Liga standings with 24 points from 16 matches, four points behind fourth-placed Gil Vicente, albeit with one game in hand.

However, next up for Moreirense is the tricky challenge of an opposing side, who are unbeaten in seven of their last 10 encounters, including three wins and two draws in the most recent six Primeira Liga meetings between the two teams.

While Os verdes e brancos can take pride in their performance so far this season, Tondela will be hoping for a much-improved display in the second half of the campaign as they look to beat the drop and preserve their top-flight status.

Having gained promotion from the second tier last term to end a four-year absence from the Primeira Liga, it has been a challenging campaign for Tondela, who have picked up 12 points from 16 matches to sit bottom but one in the league table.

However, head coach Cristiano Bacci will hope that his side can build on the momentum from a comfortable 3-1 victory over Arouca in their first outing of the year at the Estadio Joao Cardoso last Saturday.

Tondela looked set to drop more points after just eight minutes, when Alfonso Trezza hit the target to put Arouca in front, but Emmanuel Maviram, Jordan Siebatcheu and Yefrei Rodriguez hit the target to turn the game on its head and hand Tondela their first home win of the year.

The win over Arouca marked just the second time the Auriverdes have netted two more goals in the league this season, highlighting their struggles at the attacking end of the pitch, where they currently hold the third-worst record in the division with just 12 goals scored so far.

Victory this weekend could see Tondela surge into 15th place in the standings, and they will be backing themselves to get the job done at the Parque Joaquim de Almeida Freitas, where they are unbeaten in five of their seven visits, claiming four wins and one draw since February 2016.

Moreirense Primeira Liga form:

Tondela Primeira Liga form:

Tondela form (all competitions):

Team News

Moreirense will be without several players down the spine of the team, as Joel Jorquera Romero (ankle), Vasco Sousa (leg) and Brazilian striker Yan Maranhao (muscle) continue their spells on the sidelines.

Ghanaian midfielder Lawrence Ofori has been out of action since sustaining an injury against Gil Vicente back in August and the 27-year-old is also out of contention for Os verdes e brancos.

Moreirense will also have to cope without the services of Portuguese defender Dinis Pinto, who is currently suspended, after crossing the yellow card threshold with his booking in the win over AVS last weekend.

Barring any late fitness issues, Tondela head into Sunday’s tie with a clean bill of health, and we expect Bacci to name a similar starting side from last weekend’s victory over Arouca.

Full-back Maviram was involved in all three goals against the Arouquenses, scoring the opener and setting up two more, and the 24-year-old should form the back four alongside Christian Marques, Brayan Medina and skipper Bebeto.

Siebatcheu finally opened his account for the Auriverdes with his strike against Arouca, and the American on loan from Ligue 1 side Reims, should lead the attack once again, forming the front three with Tiago Manso and Ivan Cavaleiro.

Moreirense possible starting lineup:

Secco; Araujo, Maracas, Batista, Martine; Alonso, Stjepanovic, Alanzinho; Travassos, Schettine, Bondoso

Tondela possible starting lineup:

Bernardo; Bebeto, Marques, Medina, Maviram; Hodge, Alves; Maranhao, Manso, Cavaleiro; Siebatcheu

We say: Moreirense 2-0 Tondela

Moreirense and Tondela picked up a dream start to the year last time out and both sides will head into the weekend in high spirits as they look to put together a run of form. Moreirense boasts a superior squad on paper and we predict that they will make the most of their home advantage to send the Auriverdes crashing back to earth.

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