Gil Vicente will look to stretch their winning run to four games on Sunday, when they welcome Moreirense to the Parque Joaquim de Almeida Freitas.
An upturn in form has seen Os Gilistas move up to 10th spot in the Primeira Liga table and away from the threat of relegation, while the visitors will be looking to build on a positive result last time out, when they drew 1-1 with league leaders Sporting Lisbon.
Match preview
© Reuters
Gil Vicente recorded an impressive victory last time out, when they travelled to the Estadio dos Arcos to take on Rio Ave, who sat two points above them prior to the game.
The game remained goalless for 75 minutes until Talocha netted a penalty, and Samuel Lino scored deep into added time to put the match out of sight and seal a third consecutive victory for Ricardo Soares's side, moving them above Os Rioavistas.
That followed a 2-0 win over strugglers Nacional and an eye-catching 4-2 victory over sixth-placed Vitoria de Guimaraes, as Pedro Marques, Lourency, Talocha and Lucas Mineiro all got on the scoresheet.
As a result, Soares's side have moved away from the bottom three, now sitting in 10th place with a seven-point gap between themselves and the bottom two.
With nine games of the season left to play, Os Gilistas now look in a very secure position, while a fourth straight win would make their position even more comfortable and see them all but safe.
They take on a Moreirense side who will be looking to build on an impressive result against Sporting Lisbon last time out.
The league leaders came into the game on the back of three consecutive league victories and without a defeat in Primeira Liga action this season, and they took the lead early on through Paulinho.
The game looked set to finish 1-0, until Walterson popped up with a 90th-minute equaliser to seal a commendable point for Vasco Seabra's side.
However, Os Verdes e Brancos have now gone three games without a victory in the top flight, having previously suffered a 3-0 thrashing at the hands of Pacos de Ferreira.
As a result, Seabra will be hoping that his side can build on that positive result last time out and put an end to that winless run, as they have the chance to overtake seventh-placed Santa Clara, who sit just one point above them.
- W
- L
- L
- W
- W
- W
- L
- D
- W
- D
- L
- D
Team News
Gil Vicente will come into this game without midfielder Lucas Mineiro, who will serve a suspension after he picked up his fifth yellow card of the season in the win over Rio Ave.
However, they will welcome Joao Afonso back to action to fill the gap left in midfield, after he served a suspension in the last game for a red card shown in the victory over Nacional.
Their only absentee through injury should be young forward Miullen, who has missed the majority of the season with a knee issue.
Samuel Lino will push for a return to the starting side on Sunday, having found the net off the bench last time out, but Ricardo Soares seems to have settled on a front three of Lourency, Pedro Marques and Kanya Fujimoto.
Moreirense will remain without midfielder Pedro Nuno and defender Pedro Amador, with both players missing the majority of the season through injury.
Seabra made several changes to his side last time out, as Nahuel Ferraresi was dropped to the bench after a concerning performance in defence against Pacos de Ferreira, with Abdoulaye Ba taking his place.
Midfielder Alex Soares and winger Yan were also dropped to the bench for the game with the league leaders, but they could both return to the starting team on Sunday.
Gil Vicente possible starting lineup:
Denis; Pereira, Nogueira, Fernandes, Talocha; Pedrinho, Afonso, Carvalho; Fujimoto, Marques, Lourency
Moreirense possible starting lineup:
Pasinato; Silva, Rosic, Ba, Conte; Walterson, A. Soares, Pacheco, Yan; F. Soares, Martins
We say: Gil Vicente 2-1 Moreirense
Gil Vicente have managed to hit a strong run of form at the perfect time, and they do not look like slipping up.
We see Soares's men recording a fourth consecutive victory on Sunday, as they look to all but confirm their survival thanks to that impressive upturn in form.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Gil Vicente win with a probability of 38.19%. A win for Moreirense had a probability of 31.63% and a draw had a probability of 30.2%.
The most likely scoreline for a Gil Vicente win was 1-0 with a probability of 13.89%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (7.62%) and 2-1 (7.38%). The likeliest Moreirense win was 0-1 (12.28%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.46%). The actual scoreline of 1-2 was predicted with a 6.5% likelihood.