Vitoria de Guimaraes welcome second-tier side Penafiel to Estadio Dom Afonso Henriques for a Taca de Portugal last-16 tie on Thursday.
While the hosts are seeking to win their fourth successive home match in all competitions, the visitors are hoping to end their five-game winless streak on the road.
Match preview
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Vitoria de Guimaraes extended their unbeaten run across all competitions to six matches when they rescued a point in dramatic fashion in a 1-1 draw with Braga last weekend.
Os Arsenalistas appeared to be on course to claim maximum points thanks to a second-half strike from Vitor Carvalho, but substitute Joao Mendes netted a 98th-minute equaliser for Vitoria to ensure that they avoided defeat in their first game of 2024.
Alvaro Pacheco's side currently sit fifth in the Primeira Liga standings with 30 points from 16 matches, three points behind Braga in fourth and five points adrift of Porto in third place.
Vitoria are now gearing up for three successive home games in all tournaments, including Thursday's clash with Penafiel in the Taca de Portugal, a competition that they won for the first and only time to date in 2013.
The Conquerors beat lower-league sides Moncarapachense and Vilaverdense by an aggregate score of 7-2 in the previous two rounds, and are tasked with getting the better of another team from outside the top flight in Penafiel if they wish to reach the quarter-finals for just the second time in the last eight years.
Penafiel, meanwhile, enter the last-16 stage of the Taca de Portugal for the first time since 2016-17 after following up a penalty-shootout triumph over Valadares Gaia in the second round with victories against Santa Maria and Vitoria Setubal in the third and fourth rounds respectively, beating the latter 3-2 after extra time at the end of November.
The Rubro-Negros have since experienced a mixed run of form in their last five second-tier matches, although they have put together a three-match unbeaten run, including last weekend's 2-1 home win over Vilaverdense.
First-half strikes from Gabriel Barbosa and Adilio Santos helped Penafiel claim all three points and climb up to 14th in the LigaPro table, five points clear of the relegation zone.
Helder Cristovao's men are now tasked with taking on Primeira Liga opposition in the form of Braga, a side whom Penafiel beat 2-0 in their most recent meeting in the Taca de Portugal in October 2015.
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Team News
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Vitoria de Guimaraes' only injury absentee is midfielder Telmo Arcanjo, who is yet to play this season as he continues to recover from a cruciate ligament problem.
Backup goalkeeper Charles played in the previous two Taca de Portugal matches and is expected to replace first-choice shot-stopper Bruno Varela on Thursday, while Toni Borevkovic will hope to retain his place in the back three alongside Jorge Fernandes and Tomas Ribeiro.
After netting a late equaliser as a substitute last time out, Mendes will be pushing to start in midfield, while Andre Silva, who has scored a team-high seven goals this term, could continue up front.
As for Penafiel, Cristovao is expected to name a strong starting lineup and should stick with a three-man defence of captain Leandro Teixeira, Joao Miguel and Ruben Pereira.
Gabriel Barbosa and Robinho lead the way with goals for the Rubro-Negros so far this season with six apiece, and the attacking duo are both expected to feature in the final third on Thursday.
Vitoria de Guimaraes possible starting lineup:
Charles; Fernandes, Borevkovic, Ribeiro; Gaspar, D. Silva, Mendes, Mangas, J. Silva, A. Silva, Santos
Penafiel possible starting lineup:
P. Silva; Teixeira, Miguel, Pereira; Santos, Batista, Oliveira, Cardoso, J. Silva; Robinho, Barbosa
We say: Vitoria de Guimaraes 3-1 Penafiel
Vitoria de Guimaraes will be regarded as firm favourites to come out on top against Penafiel on Thursday, and even if Pacheco opts to freshen up his starting lineup, the hosts should still be strong enough to outscore their second-tier opponents en route to securing their spot in the quarter-finals.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Oliver Thomas
