Alverca vs Rio Ave - prediction, team news, lineups

Alverca volition look to physique connected past weekend's triumph erstwhile they invited Rio Ave to the Complexo Desportivo bash FC Alverca connected Saturday evening, arsenic some sides question to ascent distant from the little reaches of the Primeira Liga table.

The Ribatejo hosts recorded their archetypal triumph of the run by beating Nacional 3-1 successful Madeira past clip out, 2 days earlier the Vila bash Conde visitors were progressive successful a thrilling 3-3 gully with Estrela Amadora connected Monday night.

Match preview

Alverca made a hard commencement to their 2nd successive play backmost successful the Portuguese apical flight, collecting conscionable 2 points from their archetypal 5 matches earlier yet getting disconnected the people against Nacional.

Although Sergio Ferreira had seen his broadside find the nett successful 4 of those opening 5 league fixtures, a Chissumba opener and a Dawda Camara brace - each strikes coming wrong an eight-minute spell successful the archetypal fractional  - handed the 39-year-old manager his archetypal competitory triumph since taking implicit this summer.

That effect lifted the Ribatejo nine to 12th successful the Primeira Liga table with 5 points from six matches, though their antiaircraft grounds remains a interest aft conceding 11 times, with lone Estrela (12) shipping much among sides presently supra the relegation playoff spot.

There has nevertheless been capable attacking encouragement to suggest that Ferreira's broadside are susceptible of climbing the table, with their 8 goals bettered by lone 5 teams successful the division, providing assurance heading into the play against a leaky Rio Ave defence.

However, a instrumentality to acquainted crushed does not connection the champion origin for optimism for the hosts, who are without a triumph successful 3 league games astatine Complexo Desportivo this play aft drafting with Estrela Amadora and Santa Clara earlier losing to Braga.

That represents a stark opposition to Alverca's decorativeness to the 2025-26 campaign, erstwhile they picked up 7 points from their last 3 matches astatine the ground, with 26 of their full haul of 39 points coming connected location turf past word arsenic they secured an 11th-placed finish.

Meanwhile, Rio Ave finished 12th past season, 3 points down Alverca, but the Vila bash Conde nine presently beryllium 16th successful the Primeira Liga table, having taken lone 4 points from their opening six fixtures successful what is their 2nd run nether Sotiris Sylaidopoulos.

Much of the team's early-season struggles person travel from a porous defence that has conceded a mammoth 14 goals this term, with lone bottom-placed Casa Pia (15) shipping much aft Sylaidopoulos's broadside allowed 3 oregon much strikes successful each of their past 3 matches.

Following consecutive 4-0 losses to Benfica and Santa Clara, Rio Ave yet secured a constituent successful Monday's thrilling location gully against Estrela, successful an brushwood wherever the Rioavistas came backmost from a extremity shortage connected 3 occasions done strikes from Francisco Petrasso, Roland Galcik, and Jalen Blesa.

That brushwood marked lone the 2nd outing successful which the Vila bash Conde nine person recovered the nett this term, alongside a 2-0 triumph astatine Estoril Praia connected matchday 3 aft failing to people successful defeats against Gil Vicente and Porto successful their 2 different fixtures, truthful Sylaidopoulos volition besides beryllium looking to amended his side's attacking consistency.

Meanwhile, that occurrence astatine Estoril - though the lone affirmative effect successful 3 distant games this play - offers immoderate level of optimism for the visitors, who volition beryllium looking to rediscover their resilience connected the roadworthy aft picking up points successful 11 of their 17 league trips past term.

However, this weekend’s visitors person an inferior head-to-head grounds to contend with, having won conscionable 2 of their past 10 league meetings (D4, L4) with Alverca, who picked up 4 points crossed some encounters past play aft pursuing up a 1-1 gully successful the corresponding fixture with a 2-1 triumph successful Vila bash Conde successful April.

Alverca Primeira Liga form:

Rio Ave Primeira Liga form:

Team News

Alverca are expected to person a beardown squad available, though Bastien Meupiyou, Sabit Abdulai, Nabili Touaizi and Julian Martinez person been listed among the absentees up of the weekend.

Ferreira is apt to clasp the 3-4-3 strategy utilized for the triumph implicit Nacional, with Matheus Mendes continuing successful extremity and Yaya Bojang, Sergi Gomez and Isaac James forming the antiaircraft trio.

Camara's brace past play came successful what was his archetypal commencement for the hosts, and the guardant is expected to pb the enactment erstwhile again, portion Diogo Spencer volition beryllium aiming for much attacking output aft providing 2 assists from close wing-back successful that match.

Rio Ave are acceptable to stay without Brandon Aguilera (ACL) and Ryan Guilherme (ankle), portion Diogo Nascimento and Nelson Abbey are doubts for this weekend, with the second coming disconnected injured soon aft being introduced from the seat past clip out.

With Ceaser Miszta inactive recovering from surgery, Ennio van der Gouw is expected to proceed betwixt the posts, portion Pancho Petrasso should clasp his spot aft starting each six league matches truthful acold and uncovering the nett past weekend.

Blesa should besides support his spot successful the fig 9 relation aft scoring his 2nd league extremity of the play from the punishment spot against Estrela, portion Galcik could beryllium recalled to the lineup aft opening his relationship for the nine disconnected the seat successful that draw.

Alverca imaginable starting lineup:

Mendes; Bojang, Gomez, James; Spencer, Gui, Luccas, Chissumba; Chiquinho, Camara, Figueiredo

Rio Ave imaginable starting lineup:

Van de Gouw; Tome, Petrasso, Garcia, Amaral; Ntoi, Nikitscher, Galcik, Patricio, Bezerra; Blesa

We say: Alverca 2-1 Rio Ave

Alverca yet person a triumph to physique upon aft an uneven opening to the campaign, portion Rio Ave's spirited gully with Estrela showed that they tin inactive origin problems contempt their antiaircraft shortcomings.

The hosts are inactive waiting for their archetypal location triumph of the season, but their attacking consistency suggests that they tin assertion triumph this play against a porous Rio Ave defence, with the vantage of playing successful beforehand of their ain assemblage expected to play a factor.
 

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