Round 18 of the 2023-24 Primeira Liga season concludes with a meeting between Vitoria de Guimaraes and Estrela Amadora at the Estadio D. Afonso Henriques on Sunday.
The home side set out to record a third consecutive victory, while their visitors go in search of what would be a first win in five matches.
Match preview
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Vitoria de Guimaraes saw off the threat of Arouca courtesy of a hard-fought 2-1 victory when the sides went head-to-head on Monday evening.
Alvaro Pacheco's men fell behind to Jason's early opener but got back on level terms on the stroke of half time through Jota Silva before Andre Silva completed the comeback just past the hour mark.
Consequently, Os Vimaranenses remain fifth in the Primeira Liga table, three points adrift of Braga in the race for the last European spot.
On the menu next is the challenge of an opposing outfit with little to pick between the sides over the last five clashes which have yielded two wins apiece and one stalemate.
Off the back of five straight home wins leading up to this weekend's contest, Sunday's hosts are huge favourites to get the job done in front of their fans once again.
Estrela had to make do with a point from their meeting against Gil Vicente, which ended in a 1-1 stalemate at the Estadio Cidade de Barcelos on Sunday.
Sergio Vieira's men went into the interval trailing to Gabriel Pereira's opener after which Regis Ndo levelled matters two minutes from time.
Having picked up 18 points from 17 league matches so far, Os Tricolores sit 11th in the standings but are just three points clear of the drop zone.
With a daunting assignment against Benfica to follow this weekend's game, Sunday's visitors now go in search of a morale-boosting result.
Team News
Kialonda Gaspar and Manuel Keliano are both on international duty with Angola at the Africa Cup of Nations and neither of them will feature for Estrela here.
Dida is also unavailable for the away side as he serves the third of a three-game suspension, meaning that Bruno will continue between the sticks.
Twenty-two-year-old Telmo Arcanjo still awaits his debut for Vitoria de Guimaraes since signing for Tondela due to a long-term knee injury.
Defender Mikel Villanueva is also a guaranteed absentee for the home side through a muscle problem he suffered back in early September.
Vitoria de Guimaraes possible starting lineup:
Varela; Ribeiro, Oliveira, Borevkovic; Gaspar, Handel, Tiago, Santos, Mangas; Andre, Jota
Estrela Amadora possible starting lineup:
Bruno; Omurwa, Mendes, Shinga; Reis, Cordeiro, Cunha, Mansur; Kikas, Luiz, Ronald
We say: Vitoria de Guimaraes 2-1 Estrela Amadora
Vitoria de Guimaraes have been in tremendous form of late, and it is hard to bet against them getting the job done here. We are tipping the hosts to secure maximum points, albeit by only a narrow margin.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Adepoju Marvellous
