Preview: Vitoria de Guimaraes vs. Gil Vicente - prediction, team news, lineups

Vitoria de Guimaraes welcome Gil Vicente to the Estadio D. Afonso Henriques on Sunday, with both sides looking to bounce back from defeats last time out.

The hosts fell to a heavy 3-0 loss to Braga on Tuesday, while Gil Vicente were beaten 2-0 by Porto, causing them to slip to 16th spot in the Primeira Liga table.

Match preview

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Vitoria travelled to take on second-placed Braga in their last game, with goals from Lucas Piazon, Abel Ruiz and Andraz Sporar sealing a comfortable victory for the hosts.

That stopped Vitoria securing consecutive wins, after they previously beat strugglers Boavista 2-1 thanks to goals from Diogo Rochinha and Andre Andre.

That win remains Joao Henriques's side's only victory in their last seven league outings, picking up just six points in that time.

As a result, the side from Guimaraes have fallen well behind the teams above them, now sitting in sixth spot with a five-point gap between themselves and fifth-placed Pacos de Ferreira.

Henriques will be looking to reduce that gap in this game, as his side aim for just a second victory in eight league outings on Sunday.

They take on a team who will be desperate for a win of their own, as Gil Vicente will look to claw themselves out of the relegation places with a result at the Estadio D. Afonso Henriques.

The away side come into this game off the back of a 2-0 away defeat to third-placed Porto.

An early Mateus Uribe goal meant that Os Gilistas were fighting an uphill battle for the whole game, and the match was put to bed when Sergio Oliveira doubled the hosts' lead on the hour mark.

Ricardo Soares's side now sit in the relegation playoff place, level on points with Famalicao in the automatic drop zone.

However, they do also sit level on points with 15th-placed Farense, meaning an upturn in results could quickly see Os Gilistas move away from the bottom three.

Soares will hope to get that started on Sunday, when they travel to take on a Vitoria side who are lacking in consistency and confidence.

Team News

Vitoria will remain without several players through injury, as midfielders Jacob Maddox and Joseph Amoah continue spells out with injury.

They are joined on the sidelines by experienced right-back Silvio, who is yet to feature since the turn of the year due to a muscle injury.

After a spell on the bench, Marcus Edwards has recently cemented himself back in the starting lineup, forming a potent front three alongside Oscar Estupinan and Diogo Rochinha.

That is largely down to Ruben Lameiras's failure to hit the ground running for his new side, with the winger yet to score since his January move from Famalicao.

Gil Vicente's only injury worry should be Miullen, with the young forward remaining out of contention with a knee injury.

However, they will be boosted by the return of centre-back Ruben Fernandes, who served a suspension last time out for a red card shown after just two minutes in their 1-0 loss to Tondela.

Samuel Lino will be pushing for a return to the starting lineup for this game, having netted five league goals so far this campaign.

Vitoria de Guimaraes possible starting lineup:
Varela; Ouattara, Fernandes, Mumin, Mensah; Andre, Pepelu, Almeida; Edwards, Estupinan, Rochinha

Gil Vicente possible starting lineup:
Denis; Paulinho, Nogueira, Fernandes, Gomes; Pedrinho, Goncalves, Mineiro; Lourency, Lino, Fujimoto

We say: Vitoria de Guimaraes 2-1 Gil Vicente

Although a victory seems much more necessary for Gil Vicente in the current circumstances, we cannot look past the hosts winning this one, even considering their poor recent form.

With the mix of an exciting attack and an experienced midfield, Vitoria de Guimaraes are bound to return to form at some point or another, and we see them taking advantage of a struggling Gil Vicente side in this game, returning to winning ways with a narrow victory.