Gil Vicente could climb out of the Primeira Liga relegation playoff place when they travel to Boavista on Sunday night.

The Gilistas are 16th in the league standings, one point from safety, while the home side are sitting comfortably in mid-table, occupying 12th place.

Match preview

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Boavista have not competed in Primeira Liga action since before the break for the World Cup, but they will be hoping to put to bed a very poor run of form that developed prior to the Qatar tournament.

In their last six league games, the Panthers have picked up just two points, while they have also been on the receiving end of some heavy defeats, losing 4-0 to Famalicao and 4-1 to Porto.

There have been some positive signs for Petit's side this season, however, managing to defeat Sporting Lisbon 2-1 back in September, during a run in which they won five out of seven matches.

While they have not competed in a league match for some time, Boavista have been in Taca da Liga action recently, reaching the quarter-final stage before suffering a disappointing defeat to Academico de Viseu, who play in the division below.

If the Panthers are to emerge victorious on Sunday, they will need to put their poor recent record against Gil Vicente behind them, as they have only won one of the last eight encounters between the two sides.

Indeed, the Gilistas have had the better of Boavista in most of their recent matches, but they have had a very difficult season so far, failing to build on their impressive fifth-placed finish last term.

Ivo Vieira was sacked as manager after a 1-0 loss to Braga at the end of October, as a consequence of winning just one of his opening eight games, before Daniel Sousa was brought in to replace caretaker manager Carlos Cunha.

Gil Vicente have the second-worst away record in the league, picking up just four points, but Sousa has already started to show signs that he might be able to change that, securing an impressive 3-0 win at Portimonense in the Taca da Liga.

In fact, the only game that the new manager has lost so far came in an away trip to reigning champions Porto, while his side have also kept clean sheets in three of the five matches that he has been in the dugout so far.

Last time out, the Gilistas picked up their first league win since September, defeating Santa Clara 1-0 courtesy of a first-half Murilo strike, and they will now be hoping that they can continue their positive form into 2023.

Team News

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Long-term absentee Martim Tavares has been out of action for Boavista since the end of October, so Robert Bozenik is expected to lead the line for Boavista, with Bruno Lourenco playing just behind.

Top scorer Yusupha Njie has only been utilised as a bit-part player in recent weeks, so the striker is likely to be benched, although he has featured as a substitute in the last two matches, so Petit could use him as an impact player late on.

As for Gil Vicente, they also have no fresh injury concerns, but will continue to be without Lucas Barros, who has not played for the club since arriving in the summer, due to an injury issue.

Fran Navarro missed a penalty in his last match, but he has scored a very impressive eight goals in 14 league games this season, so he is a sure-fire starter for the Gilistas.

Against Santa Clara, Sousa implemented a 4-2-3-1 system to great success, and so the manager is likely to continue with this style of play, relying on Murilo and Kanya Fujimoto to craft opportunities for the lone striker.

Boavista possible starting lineup:
Bracali; Cannon, Sasso, Onyemaechi; Malheiro, Makouta, Vukotic, Mangas; Agra, Lourenco, Bozenik

Gil Vicente possible starting lineup:
Kritsyuk; Carraca, Araujo, Lopes, Marin; Fujimoto, Carvalho, Aburjania; Murilo, Medina, Navarro

We say: Boavista 0-1 Gil Vicente

Gil Vicente have started very well under new manager Daniel Sousa, and the 3-0 victory at Portimonense is evidence that they can still compete with the better sides in the league, despite their poor league position.

Not only that, but they have a very good recent record against Boavista, and so they should be able to eke out a narrow victory on Sunday.

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

Written by
Dominic Lund

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