Preview: Vitoria de Guimaraes vs Nacional - prediction, team news, lineups

Vitoria de Guimaraes and Nacional are in action for the first time in 2026 when they go head to head at the Estadio Dom Afonso Henriques in round 17 of the Portuguese Primeira Liga on Friday.

Having dropped points last time out, both sides will head into the weekend looking to get the new year off on the right foot and start the second half of the campaign on a high.

Match preview

Vitoria de Guimaraes failed to arrest their slump in form as they were held to a goalless draw by Casa Pia in their final outing of the year last Sunday.

Luis Pinto’s men were guilty of a wasteful display in front of goal at the Estadio Municipal de Rio Maior, where they squandered a plethora of clear-cut chances before settling for a share of the spoils.

Prior to that, Vitoria de Guimaraes saw their six-game unbeaten run come to an end on December 17, when they were dumped out of the Taca de Portugal in a 1-0 home defeat against AVS, six days before suffering a 4-1 hammering at the hands of title-chasing Sporting Lisbon.

Despite their struggles of late, it has been a decent first half of the season for Vitoria de Guimaraes, who sit seventh in the Primeira Liga table with 22 points from 16 games, five points off the European qualifying places.

Os Vimaranenses will be backing themselves to find their feet this weekend as they take on an opposing side who have failed to win their last four visits to the Estadio Dom Afonso Henriques, losing twice and claiming two draws since scraping a 1-0 victory in November 2015.

Tiago Margarido’s men turned in a resilient team display last time out when they fought back from two goals down to salvage a 2-2 draw against 10-man AVS at the Estadio do Clube Desportivo das Aves on December 21.

Having snapped their run of six consecutive matches without a win across all competitions with a thrilling 3-1 victory over Tondela on December 15, Nacional found themselves staring down at another defeat when Tomane and Babatunde Akinsola netted in an eight-minute spell to put AVS in a commanding position heading into half time.

However, Brazilian defender Ze Vitor made up for his first-half blunder in the 50th minute when he pulled one back for the visitors to make it two goals in two matches, before 27-year-old Jesus Ramirez restored parity with a 61st-minute strike.

While it was two points dropped, the stalemate against AVS was another result in the positive direction for Nacional, who have now picked up four points from their last two matches, having failed to win the five league games preceding this run.

The Madeira outfit have won four of their 15 Primeira Liga matches so far while losing seven and claiming four draws to collect 16 points and sit 13th in the league standings, level on points with 14th-placed Santa Clara and two points above the relegation zone.

Vitoria de Guimaraes Primeira Liga form:

Vitoria de Guimaraes form (all competitions):

Nacional Primeira Liga form:

Nacional form (all competitions):

Team News

Vitoria de Guimaraes will have to cope without the services of Angolan midfielder Beni Mukendi, who is currently away on international duty at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations.

On the injury front, Pinto will be unable to name 26-year-old Gustavo Sa and Spanish defender Oscar Rivas have both been ruled out through muscle injuries.

As for Nacional, the defensive duo of Ivanildo Fernandes and 26-year-old Ulisses continue their spells on the sidelines and will play no part in this weekend’s tie.

They are joined on the club’s injury table by Portuguese midfielder Filipe Soares, who has missed each of the last six games since coming off injured against Famalicao on November 1.

Experienced forward Witi is away with the Mozambique national team at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations, and the 29-year-old is also out of contention for the visitors.

Vitoria de Guimaraes possible starting lineup:

Castillo; Maga, Nobrega, Abascal, Lebedenko; Nogueira, Mitrovic; Arcanjo, Samu, Saviolo; Camara

Nacional possible starting lineup:

Pereira; Aurelio, Ze Vitor, Goncalves, Vallier; Dias, Baeza; Ruan, Liziero, Boia; Ramirez

We say: Vitoria de Guimaraes 2-1 Nacional

Vitoria de Guimaraes have suffered a drop-off in form of late, but their record at the Estadio Dom Afonso Henriques in this fixture will give them plenty of optimism heading into this wekend's tie.

While we expect a rejuvenated Nacional side to put up a fight, we are backing Pinto's men to come away with all three points and kick off the new year on a high.

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