Fresh off the back of picking up their first win since the turn of the year, Portimonense journey to the Estadio Dom Afonso Henriques to face Vitoria de Guimaraes in round 20 of the Primeira Liga on Saturday.
Os Vimaranenses will head into the weekend seeking to get one over the visiting side, having failed to win any of the last four meetings between the teams since December 2020.
Match preview
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Vitoria de Guimaraes picked up consecutive league wins for the first time since October as they narrowly edged out Estoril Praia 1-0 at the Estadio Antonio Coimbra da Mota last Saturday.
Despite being under the cosh for much of the game, Brazilian forward Allison Safira came up trumps for the visitors as he netted the only goal of the match in the 11th minute to hand the Canarinhos their ninth defeat of the season.
This followed a 2-1 victory over Chaves on January 30 when Tiago Silva and Safira found the back of the net to help Os Vimaranenses snap their run of eight straight games without a win.
With 30 points from 19 matches, Vitoria de Guimaraes are currently sixth in the Primeira Liga standings, level on points with fifth-placed Casa Pia in the final Europa Conference League qualification spot.
Joao Teixeira's men will be backing themselves to pick up a third win on the trot this weekend as they return to home soil, where they currently boast the league's fourth-best record with 20 points and six wins in their 10 matches so far.
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Portimonense, on the other hand, finally gave their fans something to cheer about when they secured a last-gasp 1-0 victory over Pacos de Ferreira at the Estadio Municipal de Portimao on Monday.
In a game where Maracas received his marching orders, newly-signed midfielder Mauricio announced his arrival in style as he came off the bench to grab the match-winner in the eighth minute of stoppage time.
Prior to that, Paulo Sergio's men were on a six-game winless run in all competitions, claiming one draw and losing five matches since a 2-0 victory over Segunda Liga side Covilha in Group E of the Taca da Liga on November 27.
Portimonense have now picked up seven wins, two draws and lost 10 of their 19 matches to collect 23 points and sit 11th in the Primeira Liga table, but could potentially rise to eighth place with all three points this weekend.
While the Alvinegros will set out to build on Monday's victory and extend their recent dominance over Vitoria de Guimaraes, they have struggled to grind out results away from home, where they are currently on a four-game losing streak and have lost six of their last seven in the league.
Team News
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Vitoria de Guimaraes will be without Portuguese midfielder Jose Carlos, who picked up a foot injury in the game against Boavista in December.
Fellow midfielder Tomas Handel is currently recuperating from a severe hamstring problem, while Andre is set to sit out his sixth straight game due to a sprained knee.
Jorge Fernandes picked up an injury in January's 1-0 defeat against Porto and the 25-year-old defender is set to sit out his third consecutive match.
Meanwhile, Portimonense remain without the services of Brazilian midfielder Carlinhos, who has been out of action since last May through a severe injury.
Newly-signed midfielder Mauricio opened his account with his winner against Pacos de Ferreira last time out and the former Rodina Moscow man could be rewarded with a starting role on Saturday.
Vitoria de Guimaraes possible starting lineup:
Varela; Villanueva, Amaro, Bamba; Maga, D Silva, T Silva, Freitas; J Silva, A Silva; Safira
Portimonense possible starting lineup:
Nakamura; Relvas, Pedrao, Leonardo; Moufi, Diaby, Sa, Klismahn, Ouattara; Luquinha, Ferreira
We say: Vitoria de Guimaraes 2-1 Portimonense
After a disappointing start to the year, Vitoria de Guimaraes have put together a fine run of form in recent weeks and head into the weekend as slight favourites to grab the desired results. While Portimonense appear to have hit their stride once again, we are backing the hosts to come out on top this Saturday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
