Fresh off the back of a 5-0 hammering at the hands of Arouca, Vizela play host to Vitoria de Guimaraes at the Estadio do FC Vizela in round 20 of the Primeira Liga on Sunday.
Both sides have had a contrasting campaign so far, with Os Vimaranenses on course to secure European football while the hosts currently find themselves rooted to the bottom of the table.
Match preview
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Vizela were left empty handed once again as they were on the receiving end of a 5-0 defeat against Arouca when the sides squared off at the Estadio Municipal de Arouca last Sunday.
The Arouquenses turned in an attacking show of class as the duo of Cristo Gonzalez and Spanish forward Rafa Mujica scored two goals each to inspire them to their biggest win of the season
Vizela have now lost three league games on the bounce — conceding a staggering 14 goals and scoring three — and have failed to win their last nine, losing five and picking up four draws since November's 1-0 victory at Casa Pia.
Having secured an 11th-placed finish last season, the Vizelenses' top-flight status has come under threat this term as they currently sit rooted to the bottom of the league table with 13 points from 19 matches, five points away from safety.
Next up for Ruben de la Barrera's men is the stern challenge of taking on an opposing side who have won six of the last eight meetings between the teams, including each of the last two, where they scored five goals and kept two clean sheets.
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Vitoria de Guimaraes, on the other hand, failed to move into the Europa Conference League qualification spot last weekend when they suffered a narrow 1-0 loss at the hands of Gil Vicente.
Os Vimaranenses were guilty of a lack of sting in attack at the Estadio Cidade de Barcelos as Swiss midfielder Maxime Dominguez grabbed the only goal of the game in the 85th minute to hand the home side all three points.
Prior to that, Guimaraes were on a run of nine consecutive games without defeat across all competitions, picking up two draws and seven wins, including a 1-0 victory over Penafiel in the Taca de Portugal fifth round on January 11.
Alvaro Pacheco's side have lost just five of their 19 Primeira Liga matches so far while claiming 11 wins and three draws to collect 36 points and sit fifth in the league table, one point behind fourth-placed Braga in the Europa Conference League qualification spot.
While Guimaraes will be looking to return to winning ways and get their quest for European football back on track, they have struggled to get going on their travels, where they have won just one of their last five matches while losing twice and claiming two draws since the start of November.
Team News
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Vizela remain without the services of Spanish midfielder Pedro Ortiz, who is yet to make an appearance this year after sustaining an injury against Moreirense back in December.
He is joined in the Vizelenses' injury table by 26-year-old forward Jardel, who has missed the last four matches after coming off injured against Estrela Amadora on January 6.
French striker Samuel Essende came off with a game-ending injury just before half time against Arouca last time out and the former Caen man is a major doubt for this weekend's encounter.
Should he fail to shake off the injury, fellow countryman Amadou Ba-Sy should come into the starting side, leading the hosts' attack alongside Nuno Moreira and Granada loanee Alberto Soro.
Vitoria de Guimaraes will take to the pitch without Cape Verde midfielder Telmo Arcanjo, who continues his lengthy spell on the sidelines after suffering a severe injury last May.
Venezuelan defender Mikel Villanueva has been out of action since coming off injured against Benfica back in September and the 30-year-old will also play no part in this weekend's clash.
Vizela possible starting lineup:
Buntic; Oliveira, Anderson, Goncalves, Escoval; Pereira, Silva, Mendez; Moreira, Soro, Ba-Sy
Vitoria de Guimaraes possible starting lineup:
Varela; Borevkovic, Fernandes, Ribeiro; Gaspar, Handel, Ze Carlos, Santos, Mangas; A Silva, J Silva
We say: Vizela 0-2 Vitoria de Guimaraes
Vizela have endured a rough start to the new year and are in for another tough 90 minutes against a Guimaraes side who will be looking to bounce back from last weekend's loss to Gil Vicente. Pacheco's men have won six of the last eight meetings between the sides and we are backing them to come out on top once again.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joshua Ojele
