Famalicao aim to respond to their Primeira Liga loss before the international break when they host Gil Vicente in Saturday's round five fixture at Estadio Municipal de Famalicao.
Fama held a 100% record before coming unstuck at Vitoria Guimaraes, and they strive to secure maximum points against an opponent that has a solitary win in four.
Match preview
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Armando Evangelista's men went into their fourth match before the international break with three wins from three without conceding.
Despite seeking a continuation of either or both at Vitoria, Fama conceded twice in the Braga district and could not match their opponents in the 2-1 loss, ending their perfect start to 2024-25.
With Famalicao and Porto losing in gameweek three, defending champions Sporting Lisbon own the league's only 100% record going into gameweek five this weekend.
The hosts will back themselves to respond positively, having notched home victories against Benfica (2-0) and Boavista (1-0) without conceding to either opponent.
Having claimed wins in both match-ups against this weekend's visitors last season, the home support will hope for a third consecutive triumph against Gil Vicente.
However, Fama will be wary of a side whose patterns have been difficult to understand.
Galos conceded three in their opening-day loss at Porto before letting in two the following weekend when they beat newly promoted AVS 4-2, only to keep consecutive shut-outs at Estoril and before the hiatus at home to Braga.
Although a third straight clean sheet may be a long shot for the visitors, Toze Marreco will take positives from back-to-back shutouts as his side strives for balance between defensive solidity and attacking threat.
Having avoided losing in three matches since that gameweek on defeat, another draw or maximum points at Famalicao will see the Galo match their recent undefeated streak from the backend of last season when they went unbeaten from late April to mid-May.
The away side have a positive recent record at Estadio Municipal de Famalicao, avoiding defeat in three of their previous four visits (two wins, one draw), and they hope last season's 3-1 reverse was an anomaly in Saturday's return.
Team News
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Famalicao lost Francisco Moura to Porto late in the summer window, leaving a huge hole at left-back for Saturday's match — new signing Rafa Soares could make his debut for the club in that position.
Sorriso (three goals) and Zaydou Youssouf (two) have been the home side's most productive players in front of goal and could add to their tallies this weekend.
Gil Vicente's only injury absentee is Facundo Caseres, whose knee issue is predicted to keep him out until November.
Only Kanya Fujimoto has netted more than once for Galos this term, with his stunning hat-trick deciding the visiting club's only victory in 2024-25 — a 4-2 triumph against new boys AVS in mid-August.
Famalicao possible starting lineup:
Zlobin; Calegari, Haas, Mihaj, Soares; Topic, Youssouf; Aranda, Sa, Sorriso; Gonzalez
Gil Vicente possible starting lineup:
Andrew; Carlos, Buatu, Fernandes, Kazu; Fujimoto, Gbane, Castillo; Correira, Aguirre, Toure
We say: Famalicao 1-0 Gil Vicente
Conclusions cannot be drawn from Famalicao winning two on the trot on their turf — having triumphed in fewer than half of 17 home games last season (six wins, six draws and five defeats) — due to the small sample size.
One thing that has stayed the same is Gil Vicente's wretched away record — they lost 12 on the road in 2023-24, drawing two and notching two victories — and have followed that with a 3-0 loss and goalless encounter this term, leaving little choice but to back Fama for a marginal success.
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