Round 27 of the Portuguese Primeira Liga comes to an end on Monday evening when Gil Vicente and Chaves go head to head at the Estadio Cidade de Barcelos.
Both sides are currently separated by just two points and one place in the bottom half of the table and we anticipate a thrilling contest ensuing as they pursue a top-half finish.
Match preview
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Gil Vicente turned in a defensive show of class on Wednesday as they held Sporting Lisbon to a goalless draw when the sides squared off at the Estadio Cidade de Barcelos.
While the bulk of the chances of the game fell to Sporting, they were repelled by an inspired Andrew between the sticks for the hosts as the 21-year-old goalkeeper delivered excellently whenever called into action.
With their midweek result, Daniel Sousa's side have now gone three consecutive games without a win, picking up one point from a possible nine since a 2-0 win over Maritimo on March 5.
However, the Gilistas are unbeaten in their last seven home games across all competitions, winning four matches and claiming three draws since November's 4-1 loss against Arouca in the Taca da Liga.
Gil Vicente has now picked up eight wins, six draws and lost 12 of their 26 matches so far to collect 30 points and sit 13th in the Primeira Liga table, two points off Monday's visitors.
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Chaves, on the other hand, were sent crashing back to earth last time out when they fell to a 2-1 defeat against Braga at the Estadio Municipal Eng. Manuel Branco Teixeira.
After Juninho Vieira cancelled out Iuri Medeiros's 16th-minute opener to force a first-half draw, Spanish forward Abel Ruiz hit the target shortly before the hour mark to hand Braga their 19th win of the season.
Prior to that, the Flavienses picked up a 2-0 victory over Portimonense on March 11 to snap their three-game losing streak, one week before edging out 10-man Estoril Praia 2-0 at the Estadio Antonio Coimbra da Mota.
Next up for Chaves is an opposing side against whom they are on a four-game winning streak and are unbeaten in each of their last seven meetings, claiming five wins and two draws since November 2019.
While Vitor Campelos's men will be looking to secure a fifth win on the trot against Gil Vicente, they have struggled for results on the road, where they are winless in all but one of their six games since the turn of the year.
Team News
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Gil Vicente will still have to cope without 27-year-old striker Ali Alipour, who is set to sit out his seventh consecutive game after coming off injured in February's game against Famalicao.
He is joined on the Gilistas injury list by experienced goalkeeper Stanislav Kritsyuk, who has also been out of action since February through a muscle problem.
Giorgi Aburjania is back available for selection after missing the game against Sporting Lisbon through a one-game ban and the Georgia international should be involved in the matchday squad on Monday.
As for Chaves, Nigerian midfielder Nwankwo Obioro suffered a muscle injury against Vitoria de Guimaraes on January 31 and is out of contention for the trip to the Estadio Cidade de Barcelos.
Spanish midfielder Jonathan Arriba also continues his spell on the sidelines, while Portuguese youngster Eduardo Borges has been ruled out since November due to a knee injury.
Gil Vicente possible starting lineup:
Andrew; Ze Carlos, Araujo, Fernandes, Marin; Carvalho, Tiba; Souza, Fujimoto, Boselli; Navarro
Chaves possible starting lineup:
Fagundes; Monte, Vitoria, Ponck, Langa; Teixeira, Mendes, Sarr; Benny, Juninho; Euller
We say: Gil Vicente 2-1 Chaves
With just two points separating Gil Vicente and Chaves, we anticipate an end-to-end battle as both sides look to get one over the other. However, Gil Vicente have been rock-solid on home turf since the turn of the year and we are backing them to edge out Chaves, who has managed just one away win since November.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Joshua Ojele
