Vitoria de Guimaraes host Tondela in their rescheduled Taca da Liga playoff this Saturday.

Four top-flight sides have already been knocked out by lower league opponents, and the hosts will look to avoid that same fate in the final playoff clash.

Match preview

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Six weeks since the first seven league cup playoffs took place, the final one left to be decided will take place now during the international break.

Guimaraes' participation in Europe meant the game had to be postponed back in late July.

The Primeira Liga outfit were busy facing Celje in a Europa Conference League second qualifying round tie, in which they won 4-3 in a thriller in Slovenia.

However, Paulo Turra's side were stunned at home, losing 1-0 to the massive underdogs before crashing out on penalties.

They have since put that shock result behind them, getting off to a flying start in the league, winning their opening three games.

Estrela Amadora, Gil Vicente and Vizela were all beaten and left Guimaraes level on points at the top with Porto and Sporting Lisbon.

However, when tasked with a trip to the capital to face champions Benfica, Guimaraes had no answer and fell to a 4-0 defeat, largely thanks to an early red card to Joao Mendes.

After a complacent finish to last season with nothing to play for, Tondela have started the new campaign in similar fashion down in the second tier.

Form which saw Tondela take just one point from their final five matches last season has continued into this season, with just two points from a possible 12 so far.

Their win in the last round over Santa Clara also came on penalties, meaning Tondela are without a win in regulation time since mid-April.

A complacent finish saw Toze Marreco's side marooned in mid-table last season, but they have gone into the international break in the relegation places this time around.

Two opening draws were followed by a 5-1 thrashing at Pacos Ferreira and a home defeat to Belenenses last weekend, so facing top-flight opposition is not the ideal fixture to have when they are trying to play themselves back into form.

Team News

Telmo Arcanjo will not make his Guimaraes debut against the club he left over the summer, as the forward is out injured.

Had it not been for his injury though, it is likely Arcanjo would have been a part of the Cape Verde side during the international break.

Another of Guimaraes' new signings Ricardo Mangas is also out after arriving from Boavista and is yet to feature for the club.

Manager Turra could rest a few players given the level of opposition, but nothing can be taken for granted given some of the results already seen in the Taca da Liga so far.

Defender Tiago Almeida is set to be Tondela's only injury absentee for this cup tie.

Andre Ceitil returned from a minor issue at the weekend but was an unused substitute, while last season's top scorer Daniel dos Anjos was dropped from the starting XI.

Vitoria de Guimaraes possible starting lineup:
Bruno Varela; Tounkara, Manu, Villanueva; Miguel Maga, Tiago Silva, Daniel Silva, Andre Andre, Afonso De Freitas; Andre Silva, Jota Silva

Tondela possible starting lineup:
Ricardo Silva; Bebeto, Ba, Ricardo Alves, Lucas Barros; Helder Tavares, Sithole, Cicero; Rui Gomes, Roberto, Costinha

We say: Vitoria de Guimaraes 1-0 Tondela

With Turra likely to make a few changes, the gulf in class between the clubs may not be as evident, but the Primeira Liga side should get the job done.

Tondela are on a woeful run of form and arresting it here appears unlikely against one of the form sides in Portugal.


For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

Written by
Andrew Delaney

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