Fresh off the back of a disappointing fifth-round exit from the Taca de Portugal, Vitoria de Guimaraes play host to Arouca in round 18 of the Primeira Liga on Saturday.
Having lost each of their last three meetings between the two teams, the Arouquenses will journey to the Estadio Dom Afonso Henriques looking to get one over the home side and secure back-to-back victories for the first time since last April.
Match preview
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Vitoria de Guimaraes were dumped out of the Taca de Portugal in the fifth round as they suffered a shock 2-1 defeat at the hands of Campeonato de Portugal outfit O Elvas at the Campo Domingos Carrilho Patalino last Sunday.
Dieu-Merci Michel gave the visitors a dream start to the game as he opened the scoring after just 180 seconds, but Lucao levelled matters five minutes after the break before Desmond Nketia struck in the 75th minute to complete the comeback.
This was in keeping with their recent struggles in the Primeira Liga, where Vitoria de Guimaraes have failed to win any of their last five matches, losing once and claiming four draws since a 4-0 victory over Gil Vicente on December 2.
Luis Freire's men have managed just two wins from their most recent 12 league matches, while losing three and claiming seven draws, having picked up four wins from their opening five games to start the campaign.
This poor run of results has seen Vitoria de Guimaraes drop into sixth-place in the Primeira Liga standings, having picked up 25 points from their 17 matches, six points adrift of fourth-placed Braga in the European qualifying places.
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On the other hand, Arouca left it late in their first outing of the new year as they secured a 3-1 victory over 10-man Boavista when the two teams squared off at the Estadio do Bessa on December 4.
In a game where Sebastian Perez received his marching orders, Salvador Agra struck in the 71st minute to cancel out Jason's first-half opener but Guven Yalcin struck twice in stoppage time to hand the visitors a dramatic victory.
Arouca have now gone unbeaten in three of their most recent four matches, picking up two wins and one draw since mid-December, having failed to win the six matches across all competitions preceding this run.
This upturn in form has seen Vasco Seabra's men pull three points clear of rock-bottom Boavista in the league table and could move level on 18 points with 12th-placed Estoril Praia with a win this weekend.
However, Arouca face the challenge of taking on an opposing side who have won each of their most recent three meetings and are unbeaten in 15 of their last 18 meetings, claiming 11 wins and four draws since January 2011.
Team News
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Vitoria de Guimaraes will take to the pitch without the services of veteran forward Nelson Oliveira, who is set to sit out his sixth consecutive game after sustaining a muscle injury in December.
He is joined on the club's injury table by Jesus Ramirez and the defensive duo of Bruno Gaspar and Toni Borevkovic, while 24-year-old midfielder Joao Mendes misses out through a one-game suspension.
Despite their shock loss to Elvas, Michel turned in another eye-catching display at the Campo Domingos Carrilho Patalino and the Canadian striker, who has two goals in the last two matches, will be one to keep an eye on.
Like the home side, Arouca will have to cope without the services of Pablo Gozalbez, who is suspended after crossing the yellow card threshold with his booking against Boavista last time out.
On the injury front, the Arouquenses remain without Kouassi Eboue, who is yet to feature this season after sustaining a severe muscle problem in May while Nino Galovic has been sidelined since August through a knee injury.
Vitoria de Guimaraes possible starting lineup:
Varela; Baio, Rivas, Fernandes, Villanueva; Samu, J Silva, T Silva; Cesar, Michel, Santos
Arouca possible starting lineup:
Mantl; Esgaio, Lamba, Pinto, Weverson; Simao, Santos; Yalcin, Jason, Trezza; Garcia
We say: Vitoria de Guimaraes 2-1 Arouca
With disappointment from their surprise cup exit lingering in the air, Vitoria de Guimaraes will be looking to retire some pride this weekend and snap their five-game winless run in the league.
Off the back of a solid display against Boavista, we expect Arouca to put up a fight at the Estadio Dom Afonso Henriques, but we fancy Freire's side to prove tough to crack in front of their home supporters.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joshua Ojele
