Preview: Rio Ave vs Gil Vicente - prediction, team news, lineups

Gil Vicente will be aiming to secure back-to-back wins for the first time since February when they journey to the Estadio dos Arcos to face Rio Ave in round 32 of the Primeira Liga on Sunday evening.

Rio Ave, who are on a run of seven consecutive games without defeat against the Gilistas, will head into the weekend looking to extend this impressive five-year streak and make a late push for a top-half finish.

Match preview

With just three games to go before the season draws to a close, Rio Ave know they must avoid any slip-ups as they look to finish in the top half for the first time since the 2019-20 campaign, when they clinched an impressive fifth-placed finish.

Sotiris Sylaidopoulos’s men were guilty of a lack of cutting edge at the attacking end of the pitch last Friday, when they fell to a 2-0 defeat against Vitoria de Guimaraes at the Estadio Dom Afonso Henriques.

With nothing to separate the two teams at half time, experienced midfielder Samu broke the deadlock in the 72nd minute to put Vitoria de Guimaraes in front before substitute Tony Strata made sure of the result with a 95th-minute strike.

Having picked up three straight wins against Tondela, Estrela Amadora and Estoril Praia in March, Rio Ave have now dropped points in three of their subsequent four games, losing twice and claiming one draw while conceding six goals and scoring five across the four matches.

While the Vilacondenses are not faced with relegation threats, this drop-off in form has seen their top-half ambitions gradually slip away, as they sit 12th in the Primeira Liga table with 34 points from 31 matches, four points off ninth-placed Alverca.

However, Rio Ave will be backing themselves to bounce back this weekend against a Gil Vicente side who have failed to win their last seven league meetings, losing twice and claiming five draws since a 2-0 victory back in April 2021.

Murilo continued his stellar late-season form last Sunday when he netted a brace to inspire Gil Vicente to a hard-fought 2-1 victory over relegation-threatened Casa Pia at the Estadio Cidade de Barcelos.

The Brazilian forward netted his 10th and 11th league goals of the campaign on either side of Cassiano’s late first-half penalty to hand the hosts all three points and leave Casa Pia languishing in the relegation zone.

This was another positive result in the decisive final stretch of the season for Gil Vicente, who have picked up two wins and one draw from their last four games, having failed to taste victory in the five matches preceding this run.

Cesar Peixoto’s men sit sixth in the league table and remain mathematically in contention for a top-four finish, but with fourth-placed Braga seven points ahead, the prospect of a return to Europe for the first time since 2022 looks increasingly unlikely.

Gil Vicente’s struggles on the road remain a major concern, with the Gilistas making the trip to the Estadio dos Arcos with just one win from their last 10 away matches since the start of November, losing three and claiming six draws.

Rio Ave Primeira Liga form:

Gil Vicente Primeira Liga form:

Team News

Rio Ave will have to cope without Greek midfielder Andreas Ntoi, who is currently suspended after crossing the yellow card threshold with his booking against Guimaraes last weekend.

On the injury front, the Vilacondenses remain without the services of Costa Rican midfielder Brandon Aguilera Zamora, who has been sidelined since January through a cruciate ligament injury.

As for Gil Vicente, Argentine midfielder Facundo Cesares missed the game against Casa Pia last time out through a muscle problem and is out of contention for this weekend’s tie.

He is joined on the club’s injury table by 21-year-old Mohamed Bamba, who continued his lengthy spell on the sidelines after sustaining a severe injury against Porto back in January.

Rio Ave possible starting lineup:

Van der Gouw; Vrousai, Brabec, Mancha, Abbey; Nikitscher, Guilherme; Bezerra, Spikic, Pohlmann; Blesa

Gil Vicente possible starting lineup:

Daniel: Konan, Buatu, Espigares, Ze Carlos; Esteve, Ze Carlos; Moreira, Garcia, Souza; Varela

We say: Rio Ave 2-2 Gil Vicente

Buoyed by their win over Casa Pia, Gil Vicente will head into the weekend in high spirits as they look to keep the juggernaut rolling and close out the campaign in the strongest way possible.

However, they have struggled to impose themselves on the road, and with their last three games against Rio Ave ending all square, we predict both sides will cancel out each other's efforts once again.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.