Winless Estoril Praia return to Primeira Liga action on Sunday, keen to record their first success of the 2024-25 season against Gil Vicente at Estadio Antonio Coimbra da Mota.
The home side hope to be third-time lucky against their visitors, who got the better of newly promoted AVS in gameweek two.
Match preview
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Estoril ended the 2023-24 season with a single league win in seven matches, extending their winless streak to nine games with consecutive losses in the current campaign.
Ian Cathro acknowledged that work permit complications hampered his team's preparations last week but expressed optimism that these bureaucratic hurdles have been resolved, allowing him to focus on his new role.
The 38-year-old Scottish manager hopes to turn the tide in Lisbon as the Canaries seek their first top-flight success since late April.
Five consecutive losses since beating Famalicao 1-0 several months ago have been discouraging for the home side, who aspired to start this term much better than they ended the previous campaign.
However, their desire has not translated into results, and they face a difficult task against a side that dominated them in the previous campaign.
Gil Vicente secured victories in both fixtures in 2023-24, and neutrals will anticipate another high-scoring encounter between these clubs, considering their previous meetings produced 12 goals.
The away side scored eight of those 12 strikes, defeating Estoril on home soil and securing a 3-1 win on the road, and they will hope for a similar outcome on their return to Estadio Antonio Coimbra da Mota.
Bruno Pinheiro's men were outmatched by title-contending Porto in gameweek one but responded admirably against AVS, a side experiencing top-tier football for the first time, and Pinheiro seeks a victory over his former side this weekend aiming to secure consecutive victories.
The previous 4-2 triumph was aided by Samuel Granada's 61st-minute dismissal with the match level at 2-2, and the new boys seemed poised to secure another point until Kanya Fujimoto's brace in second-half stoppage time sealed success for Galos.
While they aim for consecutive league wins, last season's away struggles — they won just three times on the road in 2023-24, including the 3-1 win at Estoril — may lead to lowered expectations despite facing a side they defeated twice in the previous campaign.
Team News
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Jordan Holsgrove has not played for Estoril since January, and the midfield man is unlikely to feature this weekend.
The home side suffered no injury issues in the loss to Vitoria, giving Cathro a relatively healthy squad for Sunday.
Gil Vicente sustained no new injury issues in gameweek two, and they could also name an unchanged side on Sunday, even if Sandro Cruz hopes to be reinstated at left-back at Kazu's expense after a one-match ban for his sending-off against Porto.
The visiting team will anticipate another impressive performance from Fujimoto, following his three-goal heroics in the 4-2 victory against AVS last week.
Estoril Praia possible starting lineup:
Robles; Pina, Alvaro, Mangala, Amaral; Costa, Zanocelo, Orellana; Garcia, Marques, Begraoui
Gil Vicente possible starting lineup:
Andrew; Carlos, Buatu-Mananga, Fernandes, Kazu; Gbane, Dominguez; Toure, Fujimoto, Correia; Aguirre
We say: Estoril Praia 1-2 Gil Vicente
While they made hard work of last week's win over the league's new boys, Gil Vicente's seeming superior match-winning quality and slightly better form to their hosts mean we are backing Pinheiro to secure a win over his old side Estoril this weekend.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
