Seeking to move level on points with fourth-placed Braga in the Primeira Liga standings, Gil Vicente take on Arouca at the Estadio Municipal de Arouca on Saturday.
The Arouquenses, on the other hand, head into the game winless in each of their most recent four outings and will be looking to end this dry spell.
Match preview
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Arouca snapped their two-game losing streak two Saturdays ago when they played out a thrilling 2-2 draw with Tondela at the Estadio Joao Cardoso.
After falling behind to Andre Silva's fourth-minute strike, Eduardo Quaresma and Salvador Agra scored to hand Tondela a 2-1 lead heading into half time, but Silva was at it again as he scored in the 69th minute to force a share of the spoils.
Armando Evangelista's side have now failed to taste victory in four straight games, losing two and claiming two draws in that time, while they have managed just one win in their last eight outings.
With 23 points from 27 games, Arouca are currently 15th in the Primeira Liga standings, one point above Tondela in the relegation playoff spot and five above rock-bottom Belenenses.
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Elsewhere, Gil Vicente were denied a second consecutive victory last time out when they came from behind to salvage a 1-1 draw against Maritimo.
In an action-packed contest at the Estadio Cidade de Barcelos, Samuel Lino rebounded home his missed penalty on the stroke of half time to cancel out Joel Tagueu's 39th-minute opener and force a share of the spoils.
Ricardo Soares's men are now unbeaten in 12 games on the trot — picking up seven wins and five draws — stretching back to a 3-0 defeat at the hands of reigning champions Sporting Lisbon on December 18.
This fine run of results has seen the Gilistas strengthen their chances of making it to next season's Conference League as they sit in fifth on the log with 46 points from 27 games and boast a healthy 10-point cushion over sixth-place Vitoria de Guimaraes.
However, next up is the stern test of going up against an opposing side who they have failed to defeat in any of the last nine meetings between the sides, claiming four draws and losing five since 2010.
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Team News
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Evangelista will be unable to call upon the services of Brazilian goalkeeper Fernando Augusto, who has been out of action since last October through a shoulder problem.
Another name on the Arouquenses injury table is Jose Manuel Velazquez after the 31-year-old picked up a severe knee injury while on international duty for Venezuela back in September.
While Oday Dabbagh and newly-signed midfielder Wellington Nem have returned from their injury lay-offs, Moses Yaw continues his spell on the sidelines through a muscle problem.
As for Gil Vicente, 27-year-old forward Murilo de Souza is out of contention after picking up an Achilles tendon injury in January's 1-1 draw with Boavista.
With his strike against Maritimo last time out, Lino now has nine goals and five assists under his belt this season, and the Brazilian forward will be looking to get into double digits for goals this weekend.
Arouca possible starting lineup:
Braga; Esgaio, Basso, Galovic, Araujo; L Silva, Moreira, Simao; Bukia, Nunes, A Silva
Gil Vicente possible starting lineup:
Frelih; Carlos, Cunha, Fernandes, Talocha; Carvalho, Pedrinho; Fujimoto, Leautey, Lino; Navarro
We say: Arouca 1-2 Gil Vicente
Looking at past results between the sides, Arouca head into the game as favourites to come away with all three points having gone unbeaten in their last nine meetings. However, given Gil Vicente's current form, we predict they will get one over the Arouquenses and take their unbeaten streak to 13 games.
Top tip
Joshua Ojele
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Gil Vicente win with a probability of 41.74%. A win for Arouca had a probability of 31% and a draw had a probability of 27.3%.
The most likely scoreline for a Gil Vicente win was 0-1 with a probability of 11.69%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8.54%) and 0-2 (7.75%). The likeliest Arouca win was 1-0 (9.73%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.89%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with a 7.1% likelihood.
