Gil Vicente will be aiming to extend their unbeaten run at home to seven league matches when they host Estrela Amadora in the Portuguese Primera Liga on Sunday.
The visitors, meanwhile, have acquitted themselves well since gaining promotion from the second tier, but they have only won once on the road this season.
Match preview
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This is Gil Vicente's fifth successive season competing in Portugal's first tier, and they have managed to avoid being embroiled in a relegation battle for the most part during that timeframe. The Roosters even managed to qualify for Europe for the first time in the club's history when finishing fifth in the 2021-22 campaign.
Maintaining that upward trajectory was always likely to prove an impossible task, especially as their head coach Ricardo Soares was duly poached by El Ahly in Egypt. However, they ended up finishing 11 points clear of the bottom three last season, which they would certainly take again this time around.
Indeed, Vitor Campelos endured a slightly bumpy start after taking over as manager during the summer, losing six of his opening 10 league matches in charge. Only Benfica have beaten his side at Estadio Cidade de Barcelos, yet Gil Vicente are yet to pick up a single point from eight away matches under Campelos's tenure.
As such, they will travel into Sunday's fixture against Estrela Amadora with plenty of confidence of winning, especially as claiming all three points would see them leapfrog their opponents in the table. Yet if they are continue making forward strides under Cameplos, their away form must improve at some point in the near future.
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Estrela Amadora, meanwhile, reached the Portuguese Primera Liga for the first time under their new guise. The Tricolours are the successors of their similarly-named predecessors, who became extinct in 2011 due to financial problems and bankruptcy. In 2020, Clube Desportivo Estrela merged with Club Sintra Football, taking the place of the latter in the third tier.
Two promotions in three seasons remarkably followed for them, but they have adapted well to life in the top flight by collecting 17 points from their opening 17 matches. That said, Sergio Vieira's side have only won one of their last seven matches, meaning that they only sit two points above the relegation zone.
They may feel that they have missed a couple of golden opportunities by only claiming one point from two home games against Arouca and Vizela. This is especially true considering that Vieira's side were leading from early on in both games.
Estrela have certainly fared much better away from home than their forthcoming opponents, though, with only Benfica and Sporting Lisbon beating them in their seven trips. Vieira's side will be determined to avoid defeat at the very least to ensure that they remain above Gil Vicente in the table.
Team News
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Gil Vicente are expected to remain without Stansilav Kritsyuk and Depu due to ongoing injury issues, but otherwise Campelos should have a fully-fit squad to choose from. The 48-year-old made six changes for the 3-1 win against Amarante FC in the Taca de Portugal on Wednesday.
Ruben Fernandes will expect to reclaim his starting berth after coming off the bench to score in midweek, with Martim Neto also pushing for a start after doing the same.
Estrela, meanwhile, will travel without Kialonda Gaspar and Manuel Keliano as they are set to compete for Angola at the Africa Cup of Nations this month. Miguel Lopes and Aloisio are both expected to remain sidelined by injury.
None of the aforementioned quartet were involved in their side's 1-1 draw against Vizela last weekend, so Vieira could opt to name an unchanged side. Andre Luiz scored the opener in that match and will expect to lead the line once more.
Gil Vicente possible starting lineup:
Andrew; Carlos, Pereira, Fernandes, Pereira; Dominguez, Gbane, Neto; Costa, Baturina, Correia
Estrela Amadora possible starting lineup:
Brigido; Shinga, Erivaldo, Mendes; Felipe, Vito, Cordeiro, Reis; Henrique, Kikas; Luiz
We say: Gil Vicente 1-1 Estrela Amadora
The priority for both of these teams this will season will be avoiding relegation, and we could see a cagey encounter play out as a result of that. In truth, there is little to split them in terms of individual quality.
Gil Vicente have collected all of their points on their home patch this season, meaning that we do not envisage them being beaten on Sunday. But Estrela have travelled well and are more than capable of avoiding defeat.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Brett Curtis
