Gil Vicente will look to continue their rise away from the bottom of the Primeira Liga table on Saturday, as they travel to the Estadio dos Arcos to take on Rio Ave.
After back-to-back wins, Os Gilistas have moved out of the bottom three and up to 12th spot, while the visitors sit in ninth place thanks to a three-game unbeaten run.
Match preview
© Reuters
Rio Ave had a somewhat disappointing result last time out, as they were held to a 0-0 draw by Belenenses, who had 10 men for the majority of the encounter.
Despite a red card being shown to Belenenses goalkeeper Stanislav Kritsyuk after just three minutes, Os Rioavistas were unable to break the deadlock, and the sides shared the points.
That was a second consecutive draw for Miguel Cardoso's men, after they previously drew 1-1 away at eighth-placed Moreirense, as Felipe Pires equalised late for the hosts following Filipe Soares's own goal which put Rio Ave ahead.
After two draws against fellow mid-table opposition, Cardoso's side remain in eighth spot in the top flight, a slight regression after last season's impressive fifth-placed finish.
However, a win on Saturday would see them go level on points with Moreirense, while they would move up a spot thanks to their head-to-head victory over Os Verdes e Brancos.
That will be no easy task though, as they welcome a resurgent Gil Vicente side who have dragged themselves out of the bottom three.
© Reuters
In their last game before the international break, Gil Vicente recorded a crucial 2-0 victory over fellow strugglers Nacional.
Goals from Pedro Marques and Samuel Lino in the second half saw Ricardo Soares's side pick up a second consecutive win in league action.
That followed an impressive 4-2 victory away at sixth-placed Vitoria de Guimaraes, as Pedro Marques was again on the scoresheet alongside Lourency, Talocha and Lucas Mineiro.
After they previously sat in the relegation zone, Os Gilistas have moved up to 12th spot, with a four-point cushion between themselves and the bottom three.
Soares will be hoping to record a third straight victory in this game, which could see that gap stretched further to boost their chances of surviving the drop this campaign.
- W
- L
- L
- W
- D
- D
- L
- W
- L
- L
- W
- W
Team News
© Reuters
Rio Ave will be without centre-back Aderllan Santos, who will serve a suspension after he was shown his fifth yellow card of the season in the draw with Belenenses.
They will also remain without several players through injury, as experienced full-backs Fabio Coentrao and Ivo Pinto have both been absent for the last month.
Meanwhile, forward Andre Pereira and midfielder Nikola Jambor could also remain out of contention, having both picked up injuries in January.
Midfielder Joao Afonso will be unavailable for Gil Vicente, after he was shown a straight red card in the victory over Nacional last time out.
In his absence, Pedrinho could come into the midfield to offer creativity going forward.
The only absentee through injury should be young forward Miullen, who has been out for the majority of the campaign with a knee issue.
Pedro Marques will lead the line with confidence for Os Gilistas, having netted his first two goals of the season in his last two matches.
Rio Ave possible starting lineup:
Kieszek; Costinha, Borevkovic, Monte, Savio; Augusto, Pele, Geraldes; Mane, Dala, Camacho
Gil Vicente possible starting lineup:
Denis; Pereira, Fernandes, Nogueira, Talocha; Mineiro, Goncalves, Pedrinho; Fujimoto, Marques, Lourency
We say: Rio Ave 1-2 Gil Vicente
While the international break can often slow a side's momentum, we still feel that Gil Vicente look to be heading in the right direction, and could record another impressive victory on Saturday.
Rio Ave are in danger of suffering from having very little to play for in the league, and they could be outworked by a Gil Vicente side who will be desperate to keep moving away from the drop zone.
Top tip
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 Rio Ave win with a probability of 39.45%. A win for Gil Vicente had a probability of 31.41% and a draw had a probability of 29.1%.
The most likely scoreline for a Rio Ave win was 1-0 with a probability of 13.19%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (7.82%) and 2-0 (7.73%). The likeliest Gil Vicente win was 0-1 (11.39%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.35%). The actual scoreline of 0-2 was predicted with a 5.8% likelihood.
