Preview: Tondela vs Gil Vicente - prediction, team news, lineups

Off the back of rekindling hopes of European qualification with a dominant victory over AVS, Gil Vicente will journey to the Estadio Joao Cardoso to face Tondela in round 29 of the Portuguese Primeira Liga on Monday.

The Auriverdes, in contrast, are in the mix to go down in what has been a dismal league campaign and will be looking to kickstart their surge into safety with a win in front of their home supporters.

Match preview

Having ended a three-year absence from the Primeira Liga last season, Tondela have struggled to make their mark in the big leagues and find themselves scrambling for life at the wrong end of the league table.

The Auriverdes suffered their 15th league defeat of the season last Friday, when they were hammered 5-0 by Vitoria de Guimaraes at the Estadio Dom Afonso Henriques.

Having lost each of their previous three outings, Oumar Camara, Miguel Nogueira, Samu, Gustavo Silva and Joao Mendes all found the back of the net to hand Vitoria de Guimaraes a morale-boosting victory.

With that result, Tondela have failed to taste victory in four games on the trot, losing twice and claiming two draws, while managing just one win from their last 11 games since January 11, a run which has seen them plunge into 17th place in the Primeira Liga table.

While Goncalo Feio’s men could move within two points of 15th-placed Nacional in safety, Monday’s pits them against an opposing side who are unbeaten in eight of their most recent 10 meetings, picking up five wins and three draws since October 2015.

Gil Vicente, meanwhile, stopped the rot with three huge points in their bid for a top-four finish last Friday when they secured a 3-0 victory over rock-bottom AVS at the Estadio Cidade de Barcelos.

Portuguese striker Gustavo Varela turned in an eye-catching display in front of the home crowd, netting on either side of Murilo Souza’s 34th-minute strike to fire the Gilistas to a comfortable victory.

Having failed to win the five preceding matches, losing three and claiming two draws, the result over AVS was a timely lift for Gil Vicente, who will be looking to put together a late-season form and secure European qualification.

Cesar Peixoto’s men have picked up 12 wins and nine draws from their 28 Primeira Liga matches so far to collect 45 points and sit sixth in the league standings, four points behind fourth-placed Braga in the Conference League qualifying spot heading into the final six games.

While Gil Vicente will look to continue from where they left off against AVS and move within touching distance of Braga, results on their travels offer little room for optimism, having failed to win eight of their last nine away matches since the start of November.

Tondela Primeira Liga form:

Gil Vicente Primeira Liga form:

Team News

Tondela remain without the services of Brazilian midfielder Cicero, who has been sidelined since sustaining a muscle injury back in March.

Barring any late fitness issue, Cicero will be the only absentee for the Auriverdes on Monday, giving coach Feio the luxury of a relatively full strength squad to select from.

As for Gil Vicente, the French defensive duo of Jonathan Mutombo and Marvin Elimbi have been sidelined through injuries and are out of contention for the trip to the Estadio Joao Cardoso.

Ivory Coast midfielder Mohamed Bamba has been ruled out since January through a severe injury, while Hector Hernandez is set to sit out his fourth straight game since coming off with a muscle injury against Estrela Amadora on March 8.

Portuguese defender Ze Carlos will be a notable absentee for the Gilistas due to a suspension, having crossed the yellow card threshold with his booking against AVS last time out.

Tondela possible starting lineup:

Bernardo; Bebeto, Medina, Marques, Maviram; Rodriguez, Hodge; Van der Heide, Lopes, Maranhao; Siebatcheu

Gil Vicente possible starting lineup:

Figueira; Konan, Buatu, Espigares, Hevertton; Caseres, Esteves; Souza, Garcia, Moreira; Varela

We say: Tondela 0-2 Gil Vicente

It has been a challenging campaign for Tondela, who will be looking to kickstart an attempt to salvage their season in front of their home supporters, but they have failed to win their last six games at the Estadio Joao Cardoso since January.

Buoyed by their performance against AVS, Gil Vicente should be beaming with renewed confidence heading into the run-in, and we are tipping them to extend their dominance in this fixture.

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