Preview: Rio Ave vs. Moreirense - prediction, team news, lineups

Rio Ave will be seeking to snap their five-match winless run on Sunday when they welcome Moreirense to the Estadio dos Arcos in round seven of the Portuguese Primeira Liga.

Os verdes e brancos, who have failed to win any of the last six meetings between the sides since January 2019, will set out to get one over the hosts and pick up back-to-back wins for the first time this season.

Match preview

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Rio Ave were left spitting feathers once again as they suffered a 2-0 defeat against Sporting Lisbon when the sides met at the Estadio Jose Alvalade last Monday.

In a one-sided affair, Paulinho and Marcus Edwards scored first-half goals to fire Sporting Lisbon to a fourth win in their opening four home matches this season.

With that result, Luis Freire's men have now failed to win any of their last eight competitive away games since March's 3-0 victory at Santa Clara, claiming three draws and losing five, including a 2-0 defeat against Arouca in the Taca da Liga qualifiers on July 30.

Since kicking off the season with a 2-0 home victory over Chaves on August 13, Rio Ave have now failed to win any of their subsequent five matches, losing three and picking up two draws in that time.

This poor run of results could be pinned to their struggles at the defensive end of the pitch, where they have conceded eight goals and failed to keep a clean sheet since their opening-day victory.

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Moreirense, on the other hand, picked up a much-needed victory as they held their own to brush aside fellow newcomers Farense 1-0 when the sides squared off Saturday.

Former Palmeiras man Alan came up trumps for the visitors as he netted the only goal at the Parque Joaquim de Almeida Freitas in the 17th minute to hand them their second win of the season.

Prior to that, Rui Borges's side were on a run of two consecutive defeats, losing 3-2 at home to Braga on September 9, one week before suffering a 3-0 defeat against Sporting Lisbon at the Estadio Jose Alvalade.

With seven points from their first six matches of the 2023-24 Primeira Liga campaign, Moreirense are currently ninth in the league table, two points and five places above Sunday's hosts.

While Moreirense will look to build on last week's victory, next up is the challenge of an opposing side who are unbeaten in each of their last six meetings, claiming four wins and two draws since a 2-1 loss in January 2019.

Team News

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Rio Ave will take to the pitch without Ghanaian forward Emmanuel Boateng, who has missed the last two matches after coming off with a muscle injury against Casa Pia on September 2.

Other than that, the hosts head into the weekend with a clean bill of health and no suspension concerns, giving Freire the luxury of a relatively full-strength squad to select from.

Meanwhile, Moreirense remain without the services of 23-year-old defender Dinis Pinto, who is set to sit out his fifth straight game after picking up an injury in August's game against Famalicao.

He is joined on Os verdes e brancos' injury table by Brazilian defender Rafael Santos, who has also been sidelined since July through a muscle problem.

Senegalese full-back Alhassane Sylla is yet to feature for Moreirense this year as he continues his lengthy spell on the sidelines and is out of contention for Sunday's tie.

Rio Ave possible starting lineup:

Magrao; Santos, Pantalon, Alves; Costinha, Idrissi, Guga, Ronaldo; Hernani, Pereira, Ze Manuel

Moreirense possible starting lineup:

Kewin; Silva, Marcelo, Ponck, Frimpong; Ofori, Franco, Alan; Kodisang, Luis, Camacho

We say: Rio Ave 1-2 Moreirense

Moreirense have enjoyed a decent start to life back in the top flight and will be looking to build on last week's victory. Broges's men take on a floundering Rio Ave side who have failed to win their last five matches and we are backing them to come away with all three points, albeit by the odd goal.

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