Two teams tied on three points at the bottom end of the Primeira Liga table will do battle on their return to action after the international break on Sunday, as Gil Vicente welcome Estoril Praia to the Estadio Cidade de Barcelos.

The sides each endured slow starts in their four league games before the recent break and will now aim to bounce back with a victory.

Match preview

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After their 13th-placed finish in the Primeira Liga last season, 11 points clear of the drop zone, Gil Vicente again set out for a safe mid-table finish and a potential top-half fight this time around, under the new management of Vitor Campelos.

Following a first-round exit from the Taca da Liga at the hands of Oliveirense, Os Gilistas enjoyed a dream start to the top-flight campaign in mid-August, as they hosted Portimonense in their curtain-raiser and dished out a 5-0 thrashing, with Kanya Fujimoto netting a first-half brace and Pedro Tiba, Tidjany Toure and Gabriel Pereira adding goals after the interval.

They were unable to build on that encouraging platform under their new boss, though, and headed into the international break on the back of three straight defeats in the next three league outings, firstly losing 2-1 away at Vitoria de Guimaraes before leaving empty-handed from a valiant effort against giants Benfica, with Toure keeping them in the game with a goal to reduce the deficit to 1, before Petar Musa scored a third for the visitors and Maxime Dominguez's goal came too late to force a comeback.

In their final outing before the hiatus, Campelos's side travelled to take on Vizela at the beginning of September, and after a goalless first half, Matheus Pereira put their hosts ahead in the 56th minute, with Os Gilistas unable to level the scores and again returning home empty-handed as a result.

Now with just three points on the board following their slump, albeit having not suffered any heavy defeats in the first stretch of the term, Gil Vicente will be keen to improve their fortunes in the coming weeks and truly get their season up and running, starting with a home victory at the weekend.

They meet an Estoril Praia side who have also endured a difficult start to the term after finishing one place and two points behind Sunday's opponents last season.

Alvaro Pacheco's side did kick off their campaign with Taca da Liga victories over Pacos de Ferreira and Belenenses, before falling just short in their league curtain-raiser, eventually losing 4-3 away at Arouca, despite going ahead on three separate occasions through Jordan Holsgrove, Joao Marques and Alejandro Marques, only to be pegged back each time before Pedro Santos netted a 96th-minute winner for the hosts, who played the entire second half with 10 men after a red card in the 37th minute.

The Canarinhos were then able to bounce back from the opening-day defeat with a 2-0 victory over Rio Ave to score their first points of the term, courtesy of goals from Eliaquim Mangala and Alejandro Marques, before travelling to newly-promoted Estrela Amadora and leaving empty-handed thanks to a disappointing 2-1 defeat, as Joao Marques's leveller was followed by Leo Cordeiro's decisive goal in the 10th minute of injury time at the end of the meeting.

On the back of that late disappointment, Pacheco's men most recently met Boavista on home turf before the break, and despite Alejandro Marques drawing them level around the half-hour mark, Estoril Praia would again come away empty-handed as Tiago Morais restored the visitors' lead and the league leaders held on for a victory.

Certainly left disappointed from their start having already suffered three defeats, the Canarinhos will aim to take a positive step on their return to action on Sunday with a victory to move clear of the bottom end of the division at this early stage.

Team News

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As they did before the break, Gil Vicente will again line up in a 4-2-3-1 shape on Sunday, with summer signing Roko Baturina, who opened his account in their defeat to Vitoria de Guimaraes, again set to lead the line.

He will have support centrally from Kanya Fujimoto, who has already contributed two goals and two assists in the Primeira Liga this term, while winger Tidjany Toure also has two league goals to his name and will again look to cause problems from the left flank.

Behind them, Maxime Dominguez and Tiba will continue their partnership in the engine room, while Ruben Fernandes and Gabriel Pereira should both keep their places at the heart of the back four.

Estoril Praia have enjoyed attacking success of their own this season, and Alejandro Marques, who has already notched up three goals in four league appearances, will keep his place up front.

He should be flanked by Rafik Guitane and Rodrigo Gomes, while Joao Marques also offers an attacking threat from midfield, having contributed two goals and an assist in the league so far this campaign.

Jordan Holsgrove continues to play a key role at the base of midfield, while former Manchester City centre-back Eliaquim Mangala will hope to displace either Pedro Alvaro or Erick Cabaco and return in defence.

Gil Vicente possible starting lineup:
Andrew; Carlos, Pereira, Fernandes, Buta; Tiba, Dominguez; Marlon, Fujimoto, Toure; Baturina

Estoril Praia possible starting lineup:
Figueira; Parra, Alvaro, Mangala, Araujo; Soares, Holsgrove, J Marques; Guitane, A Marques, Gomes

We say: Gil Vicente 1-2 Estoril Praia

Both teams have had the international break to regroup after tough starts and will see Sunday as a good opportunity to get back to winning ways.

While the sides are relatively evenly-matched, the attacking signs that the visitors have showed so far this season lead us to believe they could get over the line on their travels, with Alejandro Marques aiming to continue his clinical start to life in Portugal.


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