Preview:Gil Vicente vs. Moreirense - prediction, team news, lineups

Fresh off the back of seeing their 12-game unbeaten run come to an end, Gil Vicente play host to Moreirense at the Estadio Cidade de Barcelos on Friday.

Os verdes e brancos, on the other hand, have failed to taste victory in any of their last seven outings and will be seeking to end this dry spell.

Match preview

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Gil Vicente were sent crashing back down to earth in the Primeira Liga as they fell to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Arouca at the Estadio Municipal de Arouca last Saturday.

In a game where both sides finished with 10 men, Brazilian forward Andre Silva struck twice in a four-minute spell to put the hosts ahead before defender Lucas Cunha grabbed a 92nd-minute consolation.

Prior to that, Ricardo Soares's men were on a run of 12 games without a defeat, picking up seven wins and five draws since losing 3-0 at the hands of Sporting Lisbon on December 18.

Gil Vicente have won 12, drawn 10 and lost six of their 28 games this season to collect 46 points and sit fifth in the Primeira Liga standings, seven points above Vitoria de Guimaraes just outside the Conference League qualification places.

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Elsewhere, Moreirense were left empty-handed once again when they suffered a slender 1-0 loss against Vitoria de Guimaraes on home turf last time out.

In a cagey affair at the Parque de Jogos Comendador Joaquim de Almeida Freitas, Portuguese forward Rochinha broke the deadlock on the hour mark but it was enough to separate the sides and hand the visitors all three points.

Ricardo Sa Pinto's side have now lost each of their most recent four games, scoring six goals and conceding one in that time, while they have failed to win any of their last seven since February's 4-1 win over Belenenses.

This horrid run of results has seen Os verdes e brancos drop below Belenenses to sit rock-bottom in the league standings after picking up just 20 points from 28 games.

However, Moreirense will feel confident of beginning their surge away from the relegation places as they now face an opposing side who they are unbeaten against in each of the last nine meetings between the sides since a 4-3 defeat back in 2012.

Team News

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The Gilistas will take to the pitch without the services of Georgian midfielder Giorgi Aburjania, who received his marching orders in the game against Arouca last weekend.

On the injury front, Soares will be unable to call upon the services of Murilo de Souza, who has been out of action since picking up an Achilles tendon injury back in January.

Meanwhile, Moreirense will have to make do without the services of veteran defender Steven Vitoria, who is set to sit out his seventh straight game through injury.

However, they will be boosted by the return of former Everton midfielder Kevin Mirallas, who made his first appearance last weekend since coming off injured against Maritimo on March 6.

With just two goals scored in their last seven outings, Sa Pinto could make a few changes in the final third with Andre Luis, who has six goals in 12 starts this season, pushing for a return to the XI.

Gil Vicente possible starting lineup:

Frelih; Carlos, Cunha, Fernandes, Talocha; Carvalho, Pedrinho; Fujimoto, Leautey, Lino; Navarro

Moreirense possible starting lineup:

Pasinato; Frimpong, Rosic, Jorge, Mota; Mirallas, Franco, Pacheco; Santos, Luis, Martins

We say: Gil Vicente 2-1 Moreirense

Gil Vicente will be looking to quickly return to winning ways after seeing their unbeaten run come to an end against the Arouquenses. They go up against a Moreirense side who have lost six of their last seven games and we predict they will come away with maximum points and heap more misery on the floundering visitors.