Seeking to snap their four-game winless run, Gil Vicente lock horns with Portimonense at the Estadio Cidade de Barcelos in round 31 of the Primeira Liga on Saturday.
The Gilistas will also be eyeing a first league double over the visitors since 2014, having picked up a 1-0 victory when the sides squared off in December's reverse fixture.
Match preview
© Reuters
Gil Vicente put on a resilient display last Friday when they came from behind twice to salvage a 2-2 draw with Famalicao at the Estadio Municipal de Famalicao.
Simon Banza and Pepe scored either side of Elder Santana's 20th-minute equaliser to put the Vila Nova ahead going into half time but Fran Navarro was calm under pressure as he neatly slotted home his 89th-minute penalty to even up the contest.
While manager Ricardo Soares will be satisfied with the point, having been in a losing position twice, his side have now failed to taste victory in four consecutive games — their longest run winless since going six games without a win last October.
Gil Vicente have won 12, drawn 11 and lost seven of their 30 games so far to collect 47 points and sit fifth in the Primeira Liga standings, five points above Vitoria de Guimaraes just outside the final Conference League qualification spot.
With four games left to play, the Gilistas will need to arrest their slump in form sooner rather than later as they eye their best-ever top-flight record, which came in the 1999-2000 campaign, when they finished fifth in the table.
© Reuters
Pacos de Ferreira, meanwhile, were on the receiving end of a 4-0 defeat when they took on Vitoria de Guimaraes at the Estadio Dom Afonso Henriques last Friday.
Tiago Silva and Bruno Duarte scored first-half goals to put the hosts in a commanding position, and after Duarte rebounded home Andre Almeida's 67th-minute penalty, Ruben Lameiras netted with three minutes left on the clock to cap off a brilliant team display.
Cesar Peixoto's men head into Saturday's game on a run of two losses from their last three outings — scoring twice and shipping six goals in that time — with both defeats coming on the road.
With 36 points from 30 games, Pacos de Ferreira currently occupy eighth place in the league standings, only behind seventh-placed Maritimo on goal difference.
- D
- W
- D
- L
- L
- D
- L
- W
- W
- L
- W
- L
Team News
© Reuters
Gil Vicente will make do with the absence of 27-year-old forward Murilo de Souza, who has been out of action since January through an Achilles tendon injury.
With his equaliser against Famalicao last Friday, Navarro now has 14 goals to his name this season and the 24-year-old forward will look to deliver the goods once again.
Pacos de Fereira, meanwhile, will take to the pitch without Luiz Carlos, who will serve a one-game suspension for receiving his marching orders in the game against Vitoria de Guimaraes at the weekend.
On the injury front, the Pacenses have the Portuguese duo of Joao Vigario and Jorge Silva sidelined with ankle and knee problems respectively.
Flavio Ramos will play no part in this weekend's encounter after suffering a muscle injury back in November, while N'Dri Philippe Koffi is also set to sit out his ninth straight game through injury.
Gil Vicente possible starting lineup:
Frelih; Carlos, Silva, Fernandes, Talocha; Carvalho, Pedrinho; Fujimoto, Santana, Lino; Navarro
Pacos de Ferreira possible starting lineup:
Ferreira; Antunes, Lima, Maracas, Delgado; Carlos, Pires, Santos; Ferreira, Uilton, Butzke
We say: Gil Vicente 2-1 Pacos de Ferreira
Gil Vicente have fallen off a cliff at the tail end of the season as they now risk their place in the Conference League qualification spot after a series of underwhelming results. However, looking at their home record against the Pacenses, we are tipping them to find their feet and return to winning ways, albeit by the odd goal.
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 57.53%. A draw had a probability of 23.7% and a win for Pacos de Ferreira had a probability of 18.8%.
The most likely scoreline for a Gil Vicente win was 1-0 with a probability of 12.87%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (11.09%) and 2-1 (9.66%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (11.21%), while for a Pacos de Ferreira win it was 0-1 (6.51%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with an 11.2% likelihood.
