Gil Vicente and Vizela bring round 21 of the Portuguese Primeira Liga to an end when they go head to head at the Estadio Cidade de Barcelos on Tuesday.
The two sides head into the midweek clash still licking their wounds from their recent Taca de Portugal exit and will both be looking to pick up a morale-boosting result.
Match preview
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Gil Vicente were denied a place in the semi-finals of the Taca de Portugal as they suffered a 3-1 defeat against Vitoria de Guimaraes at the Estadio Dom Afonso Henriques last Thursday.
In an action-packed first half, Tiago Silva and Andre Silva scored quick-fire goals to put the hosts in a comfortable lead, and after Murilo Souza pulled one back in the 37th minute, Jota Silva restored the hosts' two-goal lead on the stroke of half time.
Prior to that, Gil Vicente saw their run of two consecutive victories in the Primeira Liga come to an end on February 4 when they fell to a 3-0 defeat against Benfica at the Estadio da Luz.
With their cup defeat, Vitor Campelos's men have now lost back-to-back matches for the first time since losing three consecutive games between August and September — incidentally, those three defeats came at the hands of Guimaraes, Benfica and Vizela.
After two games on the road, the Gilistas will be happy to return to the Estadio Cidade de Barcelos, where they are unbeaten in their last nine matches, picking up five wins and four draws since a 3-2 loss to Benfica on August 26.
With 22 points from 20 matches, Gil Vicente are currently 11th in the Primeira Liga standings and could move level with eighth-placed Arouca with all three points on Tuesday.
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Like their hosts, Vizela were sent packing from the Taca de Portugal as they suffered a 2-1 loss against Benfica when the sides squared off at the Estadio do FC Vizela last Thursday.
Brazilian forward Arthur Cabral turned in a solid individual performance as he scored the opener and set up Joao Mario to put As Aguias two goals up before Sava Petrov pulled one back in the 68th minute.
This was in keeping with their struggles in the Primeira Liga, where Vizela have lost each of their last four matches and are without a win in 10 consecutive games, losing six and picking up four draws.
The Vizelenses' last league victory came on November 5, when they beat Casa Pia 1-0 at the Estadio Pina Manique courtesy of a 70th-minute effort from Spanish midfielder Alberto Soro.
This poor run of form has seen Ruben de la Barrera's side drop to the bottom of the Primeira Liga table, eight points away from safety, having picked up just 13 points from their 20 matches so far.
However, Vizela will be backing themselves to turn things around on Tuesday as they take on an opposing side who have failed to win any of their last three meetings since a 1-0 victory in February 2022.
Team News
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Gil Vicente will take to the pitch without the services of Spanish midfielder Pedro Ortiz, who has been sidelined since coming off injured against Moreirense back in December.
He is joined on the Gilistas' injury table by 24-year-old defender Kiko Vilas Boas, who has missed the last three matches after sustaining a muscle problem against Portimonense on January 21.
With his strike against Vitoria de Guimaraes, Souza now has four goal involvements in his last five matches and the Brazilian forward will be one to keep an eye on.
January signing Petrov opened his account for Vizela with his goal against Benfica last time out and we expect the Serbia striker to spearhead the visitors' attack once again.
At the opposite end of the pitch, De la Barrera should name an unchanged back four of Tomas Silva, Jota Goncalves, Rodrigo Escoval and Orest Lebedenko, with Samu and Bruno Costa retaining their roles in the midfield pivot.
Gil Vicente possible starting lineup:
Andrew; Ze Carlos, Pereira, Fernandes, Buta; Castillo, Fujimoto, Gbane; Dominguez, Souza, Correia
Vizela possible starting lineup:
Buntic; Silva, Goncalves, Escoval, Lebedenko; Samu, Costa; Lokilo, Nascimento, Quina; Petrov
We say: Gil Vicente 2-0 Vizela
While Vizela will be looking to stop the rot, they take on a Gil Vicente side who have been rock-solid at home in recent weeks. The Vizelenses have failed to win their last five visits to the Estadio Cidade de Barcelos and we see them struggling once again.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joshua Ojele
