Vitoria de Guimaraes will be looking to move within two points of the European qualifying places when they play host to Famalicao in round 25 of the Primeira Liga on Saturday.
Having suffered a 3-1 defeat in October's reverse fixture, the Vila Nova will journey to the Estadio Dom Afonso Henriques seeking to get one over the hosts and strengthen their position in the top half of the table.
Match preview
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Vitoria de Guimaraes ensured that they remain within touching distance of the European qualification places as they picked up a comfortable 3-1 victory over Estoril Praia last Saturday.
In a one-sided affair at the Estadio Antonio Coimbra da Mota, the visitors raced into a commanding lead thanks to goals from Joao Mendes, Jota Silva and Nelson Oliveira before Alejandro Marques pulled one back for Estoril with a 69th-minute penalty.
Prior to that, Vitoria de Guimaraes saw their four-match unbeaten run across all competitions come to an end on February 24 when they were beaten 2-0 by Casa Pia courtesy of first-half strikes from Clayton and Pablo.
Alvaro Pacheco's side have now won 13 of their 24 Primeira Liga games so far while losing six and claiming five draws to collect 44 points and sit fifth in the table, five points behind fourth-placed Braga in the Europa Conference League qualification spot.
Brimming with confidence from their recent success on the road against Estoril, Guimaraes now return home, where they are unbeaten in eight of their last nine matches, claiming one draw and seven wins — a run which has seen them reach the Taca de Portugal semi-finals.
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Famalicao, on the other hand, were denied a second home win on the bounce last time out as they were held to a somewhat disappointing 1-1 draw by Boavista on Monday.
In a cagey affair at the Estadio Municipal de Famalicao, French forward Florian Danho opened the scoring in the 16th minute to put the hosts in front before Salvador Agra restored parity with a 69th-minute effort.
Prior to that, Joao Pedro Sousa's men snapped their three-game winless run with a 2-1 home victory over Rio Ave on February 16, one week before crashing back down to earth in a narrow 3-2 defeat at Arouca.
Famalicao are currently eighth in the Primeira Liga standings, level on 27 points with Gil Vicente and Casa Pia, but they will be looking over their shoulders as they sit just five points above the relegation playoff spot.
While the Vila Nova will be looking to find their feet this weekend, they face the stern challenge of taking on a Vitoria de Guimaraes side who are unbeaten in nine of their last 11 meetings, claiming seven wins and two draws since September 2018.
Team News
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Vitoria de Guimaraes remain without the services of first-choice goalkeeper Bruno Varela, who has been ruled out through a muscle injury, meaning that Charles da Silva should retain his role between the sticks this weekend.
Cape Verde midfielder Telmo Arcanjo has been sidelined since suffering a cruciate ligament tear in May 2023 and is also out of contention for Os Vimaranenses.
He is joined on the club's injury table by 22-year-old defender Mamadou Tounkara, who sustained a severe injury in the Taca de Portugal clash with Vilaverdense back in November.
Barring any late fitness issues, Famalicao head into the weekend with a clean bill of health, giving Sousa the luxury of a relatively full-strength squad at his disposal.
However, midfielder Jose Luis Rodriguez will play no part in Saturday's game as he serves the second of his three-match suspension after picking up a straight red card against Arouca on February 24.
January signing Danho opened his account for Famalicao against Boavista last time out and the Stade Lausanne-Ouchy loanee should spearhead the visitors' attack once again.
Vitoria de Guimaraes possible starting lineup:
Marcelo; Borevkovic, Fernandes, Maga; Gaspar, Handel, T Silva, Mendes, Mangas; Oliveira, J Silva
Famalicao possible starting lineup:
Junior; Mihaj, Riccieli, De Haas; Nathan, Assuncao, Topic, Moura; Sa, Sorriso, Danho
We say: Vitoria de Guimaraes 3-1 Famalicao
With just 10 games left to go, Vitoria de Guimaraes know that they must avoid any further slip-ups in their quest for European football. Having secured a morale-boosting result at Estoril last time out, we are tipping Pacheco's men to pick up where they left off and claim all three points this weekend.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joshua Ojele
