St Gallen, aiming to break into the top 24 in the league phase table, will welcome Vitoria de Guimaraes to Kybunpark on Thursday evening for matchday five of the Conference League.
The hosts are 25th in the table with four points, only outside the top 24 on goal difference, while the visitors are flying high in fifth place with 10 points from four matches.
Match preview
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St Gallen secured a fourth-place finish in the pre-split Swiss Super League season before slipping to fifth in the post-split phase of the 2023-24 campaign, earning them a chance to qualify for this year's edition of the Conference League.
They secured their place in the competition with a commanding 5-1 aggregate win over FC Tobol in the second qualifying round, a narrow 4-3 aggregate victory against Slask Wroclaw in the third round and a dramatic 5-4 penalty shootout triumph over Trabzonspor after a 1-1 draw on aggregate in the playoff round.
Those wins coincided with a strong start to the season for St Gallen, losing just two of their first 13 matches across all competitions, winning nine and drawing two in that time.
However, their form has sharply declined in the past months, losing seven of their last 17 fixtures, winning three and drawing seven, including five matches without victory heading into this one.
As a result, Enrico Maassen's side disappointingly sit eighth in the Swiss Super League table with 22 points from 17 games, four points adrift of the top six, and 25th in the Conference League with four points from four games, outside the qualification spots on goal difference.
That leaves Maassen's side in desperate need of points in their final two Conference League fixtures, against Vitoria and Heidenheim, as they aim to break into the top 24 and progress into the knockout rounds.
Vitoria will undoubtedly pose a tough challenge for the hosts, with Rui Borges's side sitting fifth in the Conference League table with 10 points from four games, including three wins and one draw, making them one of just six teams yet to be beaten in the competition.
After failing to qualify for this competition altogether in 2022-23 and 2023-24, falling to defeat in the third qualifying round and second qualifying round, they finally secured their place this term with wins against Floriana FC, FC Zurich and HSK Zrinjski Mostar in the qualifying rounds.
Those victories came alongside a superb start to the season, winning 10 of their opening 11 matches across all competitions, but an inconsistent run of results in the following 15 games has seen them record seven wins, four losses, and four draws.
That leaves them sixth in the Liga Portugal table with 21 points from 13 games, while they also sit fifth in the Conference League table, leaving them in a superb position to place in the top eight with just two matches remaining.
Team News
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Gregory Karlen is out for the hosts for the remainder of the season due to injury, while Jovan Milosevic and Musah Nuhu are both unlikely to feature due to injury issues.
Kevin Csoboth is also a doubt to make an appearance after the attacker came off in the 88th minute of their 1-1 draw with FC Basel last time out, meaning Bastien Toma may start.
As for Vitoria, despite falling to a 1-0 loss against Benfica last time out, Borges may opt to start a similar side here after a largely encouraging performance.
Tiago Silva is Vitoria's top scorer in the Conference League with two goals, and the midfielder is expected to start alongside Manuel Silva in this one.
St Gallen possible starting lineup:
Ati; Vandermersch, Diaby, Vallci, Okoroji; Gortler, Stevanovic, Konietzke; Witzig, Cisse, Toma
Vitoria de Guimaraes possible starting lineup:
Varela; Baio, Fernandes, Rivas, Mendes; M. Silva, T. Silva; Cesar, Samu, Santos; Oliveira
We say: St Gallen 1-3 Vitoria de Guimaraes
St Gallen may boast the home advantage, but the visitors are undoubtedly the favourites heading into this game, and we expect them to assert their dominance with a commanding win here.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ellis Stevens
