Preview: Maritimo vs. Gil Vicente - prediction, team news, lineups

Two sides desperately in need of a win go head to head at the Estadio dos Barreiros on Sunday as Maritimo welcome Gil Vicente to the Estadio do Maritimo.

Both sides, who are separated by two points just outside the top half of the table, head into the game without a win in any of their most recent seven league games and will be looking to end this dry spell.

Match preview

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Maritimo were left empty-handed once again as they fell to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Vitoria de Guimaraes when the sides met at the Dom Afonso Henriques last weekend.

Following an uneventful first half, the game was sparked into life in the closing 15 minutes as Oscar Estupinan and Rochinha scored either side of Claudio Winck's equaliser to hand Os Vimaranenses their third straight victory.

This followed a disappointing third-round exit from the Taca de Portugal, where they lost on penalties against second-tier Varzim at the Estadio do Varzim on October 17.

Julio Velazquez's men head into Sunday's game on a run of eight games without a win across all competitions, losing four and picking up four draws since securing a 2-1 win over Belenenses back in August.

This horrid run of results has seen Maritimo drop to 14th place in the Primeira Liga table, level on points with Moreirense and just two places above rock-bottom Belenenses, who are yet to taste victory this term.

This has been in no small part owing to their struggles on home turf, where they are winless and have managed three points from four games, picking up three draws and losing one.

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Similarly, Gil Vicente continue to drop points in the Portuguese top flight as they suffered a slender 1-0 defeat at the hands of a rejuvenated Braga side.

In a cagey affair at the Estadio Cidade de Barcelos, Vitor Oliveira came up trumps for Os Arcebispos as he scored the only goal of the game inside the opening four minutes to hand Gil Vicente their fourth defeat of the season.

Prior to that, Ricardo Soares's side booked their place in the fourth round of the Taca de Portugal when they steamrolled bottom-tier Clube Condeixa 5-0 away from home two Sundays ago.

Like their hosts, the Gilistas have flattered to deceive so far as they have failed to pick up a win in any of their last seven outings, losing four and picking up three draws since opening the season with consecutive victories over Boavista and Portimonense back in August.

While Gil Vicente will be looking to put this poor run behind them, they face an opposing side who are unbeaten in 10 of the most recent 14 meetings between the teams, claiming seven wins and four draws in that time.

Team News

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Joel Tagueu remains unavailable for Maritimo after the Cameroonian forward picked up a thigh injury in the league-opener versus Braga back in August.

Other than that, there are no concerns on the injury front for O Maior das Ilhas, and Velazquez could name his strongest side this weekend, meaning we could see Stefano Beltrame, Diogo Mendes and Bruno Xadas starting at the centre of the park.

Having missed the clash against Vitoria de Guimaraes last time out through a one-game suspension, Ruben Macedo is now available for selection and we expect the Portuguese forward to handle business alongside Andre Vidigal and Ali Alipour.

Meanwhile, Vicente will have to cope without Brazilian midfielder Joao Afonso, who picked up a severe injury in April's game versus Moreirense.

Fellow countryman Samuel Lino came up trumps for the Gilistas in the last meeting between the sides and the 21-year-old will be one to keep an eye on in this one.

The Brazilian forward and Fran Navarro have scored all but one of Gil Vicente's 10 goals this season and we expect the duo to start up top this weekend.

Maritimo possible starting lineup:
Victor; China, Leo, Junior, Winck; Rossi, Xadas, Beltrame, Alipour, Vidigal, Costa

Gil Vicente possible starting lineup:
Frelih; Talocha, Fernandes, Cunha, Carlos; Pedrinho, Carvalho; Fujimoto; Murillo, Lino, Navarro

We say: Maritimo 1-1 Gil Vicente

Maritimo and Gil Vicente have failed to build on their decent start to the season and find themselves languishing in the bottom half of the table after nine rounds of matches. We anticipate both sides will take a defensive approach to the game in a bid to avoid dropping more points and settle for a share of spoils in this one.