Gil Vicente and Famalicao get round 27 of the Portuguese Primeira Liga underway when they go head to head at the Estadio Cidade de Barcelos on Friday.
Having secured a 3-1 victory in November's reverse fixture, the Vila Nova will head into the weekend looking to do the double over the hosts for the first time since the 2019-20 campaign.
Match preview
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Gil Vicente were left spitting feathers in their last outing before the international break as they suffered a narrow 2-1 loss against Braga at the Estadio Braga Municipal on March 16.
After falling behind to Abel Ruiz's 39th-minute opener, Gil Vicente forced their way back into the game courtesy of a 59th-minute penalty from Ali Alipour, but Simon Banza struck with one minute left in the game to hand Braga all three points.
Prior to that, Vitor Campelos's men were on a four-game unbeaten run, picking up an impressive 3-1 victory over Estoril Praia on February 18, before playing out consecutive stalemates with Porto, Casa Pia and Chaves respectively.
With the loss against Braga a fortnight ago, Gil Vicente have now failed to win seven of their last eight matches across all competitions, claiming three draws and losing four, including a 3-1 defeat to Vitoria de Guimaraes in the Taca de Portugal quarter-finals on February 8.
However, the Gilistas now return home, where they are unbeaten in all but one of their last 12 matches since the start of September — picking up five wins and six draws — with a 1-0 defeat against Vizela on February 13 being the exception.
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Like the hosts, Famalicao failed to return to winning ways last time out as they were held to a goalless draw by Estrela Amadora at the Estadio Municipal de Famalicao.
A combined 25 shots were fired in the game, but with just three apiece being on target for either side, neither goalkeeper would end up picking the ball out of the back of the net, and a draw was certainly a fair result upon reflection.
Famalicao have now failed to taste victory in any of their most recent matches, picking up two points from the last 12 available, and have won just two of their 10 games, losing four and claiming four draws since the turn of the year.
Joao Pedro Sousa's men are currently ninth in the Primeira Liga table, level on 28 points with Friday's hosts, but they will be looking over their shoulders as they sit just five points above the relegation playoff spot with eight games left to go.
While Famalicao will be looking to return to winning ways this weekend, results on the road offer little optimism as they hold the division's third-poorest away record, having picked up just seven points from their 13 games so far.
Team News
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Gil Vicente will take to the pitch without Portuguese forward Ze Carlos, who is set to sit out his eighth consecutive game after coming off injured against Benfica on February 4.
He is joined on the Gilistas' injury table by defender Kiko Vilas Boas, who has been out of action since sustaining a severe knee problem against Portimonense on January 22.
As for Famalicao, Sousa will be unable to call upon the services of 24-year-old midfielder Filipe Soares, who sustained an injury in January's game against Moreirense.
Portuguese forward Henrique Araujo has missed the Vila Nova's last two outings since picking up an injury against Boavista on March 4 and is also a major doubt for Friday's game.
Off the back of a solid defensive display against Estrela, we expect Sousa to name an unchanged back three of Enea Mihaj, Riccieli and Justin De Haas shielding 23-year-old Luiz Junior between the sticks.
Gil Vicente possible starting lineup:
Andrew; Pinto, Pereira, Fernandes; Buta, Dominguez, Gbane, Neto; Toure, Alipour, Correia
Famalicao possible starting lineup:
Junior; Mihaj, Riccieli, De Haas; Aranda, Youssouf, Topic, Moura; Sorriso, Rodriguez, Cadiz
We say: Gil Vicente 1-1 Famalicao
Gil Vicente and Famalicao have struggled to get going of late and will head into the weekend in search of a morale-boosting result. Both sides are evenly matched on paper and we predict that they will cancel out each other's efforts at the Estadio Cidade de Barcelos.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joshua Ojele
