Looking to end their run of three games without a win in all competitions, Gil Vicente welcome Famalicao to the Estadio Cidade de Barcelos on Sunday.
The visitors head into the game fresh off the back of a humbling defeat against Portimonense and risk dropping back into the relegation places should they fail to claim all three points.
Match preview
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Gil Vicente failed to arrest their dip in form last Friday when they were held to a thrilling 2-2 draw by a determined Moreirense side at the Parque de Jogos Comendador Joaquim de Almeida Freitas.
Following a drab first half, the game sparked into life four minutes into the interval when Yan Santos converted from 12 yards to put the hosts ahead and after Samuel Lino and Fran Navarro scored in a nine-minute spell to turn the game on its head, Steven Vitoria netted a dramatic 96th-minute equalizer to force a share of the spoils.
This followed a fourth-round exit from the Taca de Portugal following a disappointing 1-0 defeat at the hands of bottom-tier Leca on November 20, when Diogo Rosado netted the only goal of the game shortly after the hour mark.
Ricardo Soares's side have now failed to win three of their most recent four league games, picking up two draws and losing once, and this dip in form has seen them drop to eighth place in the Primeira Liga standings.
While the Gilistas will be looking to end this dry spell, they face the stern test of going up against an opposing side who are unbeaten in all but one of the most recent 10 encounters between the sides, picking up seven wins and two draws in that time.
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Meanwhile, Famalicao were denied a third successive win across all competitions courtesy of a 3-0 home loss against Portimonense last time out.
Despite being on the front foot for most of the game, the hosts lacked sting in the final third as Portimonense picked up their sixth win in seven meetings between the sides through goals from Aylton Boa Morte, Carlinhos and an own goal from Alexandre Penetra.
Prior to that, Famalicao secured an emphatic 5-2 victory at Boavista on November 5 before sealing their place in the next round of the Taca de Portugal courtesy of a 2-1 win over Alverca five days later.
With 10 points from 12 games, Ivo Vieira's men are currently 15th in the Primeira Liga standings, one point above Moreirense in the relegation playoff spot and four points behind Sunday's hosts.
Their poor start to the season has been in no small part owing to their struggles on home turf, where they have failed to taste victory and boast the division's worst record with three points from six outings.
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Team News
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Gil Vicente will once again take to the pitch without the services of Brazilian midfielder Joao Afonso, who continues his lengthy spell on the sidelines since picking up an injury back in April.
Other than that, there are no concerns on the injury front for Soares and we expect the Portuguese manager to name his strongest possible XI on Sunday.
With his strike against Moreirense last time out, Fran Navarro now has seven goals to his name this season and the Spanish forward will definitely be one to look out for here.
Similarly, Famalicao's only injury concern remains Sporting Lisbon loanee Pedro Marques, who is set to sit out his seventh consecutive game through injury.
Pedro Brazao was handed just his third start of the season in the defeat against Portimonense last time out but after his unconvincing performance, the Portuguese youngster could return to the bench.
Gil Vicente possible starting lineup:
Frelih; Carlos, Cunha, Fernandes, Talocha; Pedrinho, Carvalho, Fujimoto; Aouacheria, Navarro, Lino
Famalicao possible starting lineup:
Junior; Figueiras, Penetra, Alex, Marin; Rodrigues, Pickel; Tavares, Paulo, Jaime; Banza
We say: Gil Vicente 1-1 Famalicao
Famalicao will be looking to quickly return to winning ways and resume their charge away from the drop zone after they were denied a third straight win by Portimonense. While Gil Vicente are ahead in the league standings, they are not significantly superior to the visitors and we predict the spoils will be shared between the two sides who are evenly matched on paper.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Famalicao win with a probability of 43.29%. A win for Gil Vicente had a probability of 29.7% and a draw had a probability of 27%.
The most likely scoreline for a Famalicao win was 0-1 with a probability of 11.81%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8.73%) and 0-2 (8.07%). The likeliest Gil Vicente win was 1-0 (9.36%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.78%). The actual scoreline of 4-0 was predicted with a 0.5% likelihood.
