Round 25 of the Portuguese Primeira Liga gets underway on Friday when fifth-placed Gil Vicente play host to seventh-placed Estoril Praia at the Estadio Cidade de Barcelos.
The Gilistas head into the game fresh off the back of an impressive draw with league leaders Porto, while the visitors will be looking to snap their two-match losing run.
Match preview
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Manager Ricardo Soares will be delighted with his side's resilient display over the weekend as they held on for a 1-1 draw with league leaders Porto at the Estadio do Dragao last Sunday.
Despite going one man down in the opening three minutes, when Vitor Carvalho received his marching orders, Fran Navarro put Gil Vicente ahead in the 62nd minute before Evanilson restored parity four minutes later.
This was in keeping with their recent string of impressive displays as they have now gone nine straight games without defeat in the Primeira Liga, claiming six wins and three draws since December's 3-0 loss against Sporting Lisbon.
They have also won 12 and drawn five of their last 18 games since late October and this upturn in form has seen them strengthen their position in the upper echelons of the Primeira Liga standings.
With 41 points from 24 matches, Gil Vicente are currently fifth in the league table, four points adrift of fourth-placed Braga and 11 above Vitoria de Guimaraes just outside the Conference League playoff spot.
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Meanwhile, Estoril Praia continue to struggle for form in the Primeira Liga as they fell to a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Boavista at the Estadio Antonio Coimbra da Mota last weekend.
In an end-to-end affair, after Petar Musa and Rodrigo Abascal scored to cancel out Bernardo Vital's opener and hand Boavista the lead, Leonardo Ruiz converted his 54th-minute penalty to restore parity, but Luis Santos netted five minutes from time to hand Os Axadrezados all three points.
The Canarinhos have now failed to win all big one of their last 11 games across all competitions — losing seven games and claiming three draws — with a 1-0 victory over Tondela on February 12 being the only exception.
While they will look to end this dry spell, they are currently winless on the road since the turn of the year, losing four games and claiming one draw from their five away games since December's 1-0 win at Belenenses.
With 30 points from 24 games, Estoril Praia are currently seventh in the league standings, only behind sixth-placed Vitoria de Guimaraes on goal difference and one point above Portimonense and Maritimo, who are both tied on 29 points.
However, Bruno Pinheiro's men will feel confident of coming away with the desired result this Friday as they go up against an opposing side who they are unbeaten against in each of the last seven meetings between the sides since 2013, claiming three wins and four draws in that time.
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Team News
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Gil Vicente will take to the pitch without the services of Carvalho as the Brazilian midfielder serves his one-game suspension for receiving his marching orders against Porto last time out.
On the injury front, first-choice goalkeeper Ziga Frelih continues his spell on the sidelines, meaning Andrew should start in goal, while Murilo de Souza suffered an Achilles tendon injury in January's game against Boavista.
Soares will also be unable to call upon the services of Brazilian midfielder Joao Afonso, who has been out of action since last April through a severe injury.
Meanwhile, Rui Fonte is set to sit out his fourth consecutive game after the Portuguese forward picked up an injury against Maritimo on February 5.
Newly-signed Ruben Providence is currently recuperating from an ankle problem and awaits his debut, while Lucas Africo has been out of action since last November through a knee injury.
Raul Silva, who completed a loan move from Braga in the January window, is back available for selection after serving his suspension for picking up a red card against Sporting Lisbon on February 20.
Gil Vicente possible starting lineup:
Andrew; Carlos, Cunha, Fernandes, Talocha; Carvalho, Pedrinho, Fujimoto; Leautey, Calero, Lino
Estoril Praia possible starting lineup:
Figueira; Patrick, Ferraresi, Vital, Joaozinho; Loreintz, Gamboa, Franco; Baro, Xavier, Laurenco
We say: Gil Vicente 2-0 Estoril Praia
Despite failing to come away with all three points, Gil Vicente kept their fine run going as they salvaged an impressive draw against Porto last weekend. The Gilistas will fancy their chances against a struggling Estoril Praia side who have managed just one win from their last 11 games in all competitions. We predict Gil Vicente will return to winning ways on Friday and end their winless streak in this fixture.
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 Gil Vicente win with a probability of 49.24%. A win for Estoril Praia had a probability of 25.64% and a draw had a probability of 25.1%.
The most likely scoreline for a Gil Vicente win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.2%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.44%) and 2-0 (8.85%). The likeliest Estoril Praia win was 0-1 (7.56%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.94%). The actual scoreline of 0-0 was predicted with a 7.1% likelihood.
