Preview:Santa Clara vs AVS - prediction, team news, lineups

Santa Clara and AVS return to action in the Portuguese Primeira Liga when they go head to head at the Estadio de Sao Miguel on Saturday.

Having reached the fourth round of the Taca de Portugal last time out, both sides will head into the weekend looking to build on their cup victories and return to winning ways in the league.

Match preview

Santa Clara avoided a major upset in the Taca de Portugal third round last Saturday when they needed penalties to see off Portuguese amateur side SC Espinho at the Estadio Comendador Manuel de Oliveira Violas.

With both sides finishing with 10 men in a heated contest, Espinho turned in a truly remarkable display as they held on to force a goalless draw in normal time and take the game to penalties, where Santa Clara picked up a 4-2 win.

Santa Clara will be eager to turn the page on their cup display as they return to action in the Primeira Liga, where they have lost each of their last two matches, conceding four goals and scoring once across the two games.

Vasco Matos’s men saw their four-game unbeaten run in the league come to an end on September 27, when they were beaten 2-1 by Tondela on home turf, one week before losing to Vitoria de Guimaraes by the same scoreline at the Estadio Dom Afonso Henriques.

Having finished fifth last season to secure a place in Europe, it has been a slow start to the new league campaign for Santa Clara, who have picked up two wins and two draws from their eight matches so far to collect eight points and sit eighth in the table, two points above the bottom three.

On the other hand, AVS turned in a five-star team display last time out when they thrashed amateur side Fornos de Algodres 7-0 in their Taca de Portugal clash at the Estadio Municipal Fornos De Algodres.

This was a welcome break for Joao Pedro Sousa’s men, who had endured a horror start to the new campaign, having failed to win any of their eight Primeira Liga matches, losing seven and claiming just one draw.

AVS head into the weekend as the only side yet to taste victory in the league and find themselves rock-bottom in the table with one point from a possible 24, six points away from safety.

While the Vila das Aves outfit have netted five goals in the Primeira Liga, they have conceded a league-high 20 already, highlighting their defensive frailty as a major reason why their season has not taken off.

While AVS will look to build on their cup victory and finally get off and running in the league, next up is the challenge of an opposing side whom they have suffered defeat against in each of their previous four encounters, conceding eight goals and scoring four since their first encounter in November 2023.

Santa Clara Primeira Liga form:

Santa Clara form (all competitions):

AVS Primeira Liga form:

AVS form (all competitions):

Team News

Santa Clara remain will take to the pitch without Australian striker Anthony Carter, who is suspended after receiving marching orders in the cup victory over Es last time out.

On the injury front, Matos will be unable to call upon the services of 27-year-old defender Diogo Calila, who missed the aforementioned game through an ankle problem.

Fellow defender Pedro Pacheco continues his lengthy spell on the sidelines due to a cruciate ligament injury and the 28-year-old is also out of contention for the home side.

As for AVS, Spanish defender Guillem Molina has missed each of the last five games since coming off injured against Famalicao in August and the 25-year-old will play no part in this weekend’s tie.

Other than that, the visitors head into the weekend with a clean bill of health and no suspension concerns, giving Sousa a full-strength squad to select from as they go out in search of their first league victory.

Santa Clara possible starting lineup:

Batista; Lima, Venancio, Nunes, Soares; Ferreira, Adriano, Pereira; Vinicius, Luquinhas, Wendel

AVS possible starting lineup:

Bertelli; Spencer, Bane, Galletto, Rivas; Assuncao, Grau; Akinsola, Lima, Barbosa; Tomane

We say: Santa Clara 2-0 AVS

It has been an underwhelming start to the Primeira Liga campaign for AVS, and they will draw inspiration from their cup display as they look to stop the rot in the league. However, Santa Clara have won each of their four meetings in the past and we predict that they will move on from their cup showing to extend their hot streak in this fixture.

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