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

Moreirense host Gil Vicente on Saturday, with the home side currently sitting in 14th place in the table having lost against Pacos de Ferreira 0-1 last time out.

Visitors Gil Vicente are in 12th after a convincing 2-0 win against Rio Ave which brought them level on points with this weekend's opponents.

Match preview

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Moreirense will be looking to make amends for back-to-back defeats to the likes of Sporting Lisbon and Pacos de Ferreira when they host Gil Vicente at their Parque Joaquim de Almeida Freitas.

Moreirense have suffered a dip in form, and will no doubt face a difficult task in Saturday's clash against Gil Vicente given the number of absentees that the home team are experiencing.

Moreirense last kept a clean sheet at home six games ago, and have kept four clean sheets in their last 20 home games.

Gil Vicente, on the other hand, did well to bounce back from a 2-1 loss to Nacional, with the team beating Rio Ave 2-0 at home.

The win for the Galos put an end to their four-game losing run in the national championship, and given Moreirense's form in November, an away win will be the main objective come Saturday.

The Galos' away form is against them, though, with their last away win coming six games ago against Vitoria Guimaraes.

They have also failed to score in any of their last three away games, and eight of their last 20.

There is nothing to separate the two sides are far as points go heading into this match, but they are certainly not alone in a tightly-group Primeira Liga table.

Just three points separate seventh from 17th heading into the weekend, and the difference between victory and defeat on Saturday could also be the difference before jumping up to seventh or ending the weekend in the relegation zone.

Moreirense Primeira Liga form: DDWLLL Moreirense form (all competitions): DWLWLL

Gil Vicente Primeira Liga form: DLLLLW Gil Vicente form (all competitions): LLLLWW

Team News

Moreirense forward Pedro Neto and left-back Pedro Amador are both ruled out long-term with torn ligament injuries, while midfielder Filipe Soares is still unavailable having tested positive for coronavirus.

Striker Andre Luis, who started his first match of the season in the last game, could retain his place up front although Cesar Peixoto may go with Fabio Abreu as an alternative.

Gil Vicente boss Vitor Oliveira's only injury concern is defensive midfielder Diogo Santos, who is still nursing an injury.

Otherwise, Oliveira should have a full squad to choose from.

Moreirense possible starting lineup: Pasinato; D'Alberto, Rosic, Vitoria, Figueiredo; Pacheco; Pires, Franco, A. Soares, Walterson; Abreu

Gil Vicente possible starting lineup: Denis; Pereira, Nogueira, Rodrigao, Fernandes, Talocha; Baraye, Goncalves, Afonso, Leautey; Lino

We say: Moreirense 0-1 Gil Vicente

Gil Vicente come into this fixture with the momentum, with two wins in their last two, and we are backing them to continue this run with a narrow win over the home side.

Top betting tip