Round 11 of the Primeira Liga comes to an end on Monday when Famalicao take a trip to the Dom Afonso Henriques to square off against Vitoria de Guimaraes.
While the home side set out to secure a fourth win on the trot for the first time since August 2019, the Vila Nova will be looking to pick up their first away win of the league campaign.
Match preview
© Reuters
Vitoria de Guimaraes turned in an outstanding team performance last Sunday when they fought back from behind to pick up a 3-2 home victory against a resilient Boavista side.
With the scores level heading into half time, Salvador Agra found the target in the 71st minute to hand Os Axadrezados a 2-1 lead, but Nicolas Janvier and Andre Amaro scored in a late flurry to complete a remarkable comeback for the hosts.
Prior to that, Joao Teixeira's men picked up a slender 1-0 victory over Pacos de Ferreira on October 8, when Nelson Luz scored the only goal of the game to condemn the hosts to their eighth defeat of the season.
Sandwiched between both league wins, Vitoria de Guimaraes secured their place in round four of the Taca de Portugal courtesy of a comfortable 3-1 victory away to third-tier outfit CF Canelas.
Os Vimaranenses, who have picked up four wins and two draws in their last six matches across all competitions, are currently sixth in the Primeira Liga standings, level on 17 points with fifth-placed Casa Pia.
© Reuters
Famalicao, on the other hand, maintained their new-found form as they picked up a 2-1 victory against league strugglers Pacos de Ferreira when the sides squared off last Saturday.
In a cagey affair at the Estadio Municipal de Famalicao, Junior Kadile and Braga loanee Francisco Moura scored either side of Nigel Thomas's 23rd-minute equaliser to hand the hosts all three points.
This followed a narrow 1-0 victory over Segunda Liga side Trofense at the Estadio do Clube Desportivo Trofense on October 15 which saw the Vila Nova scale through to the fourth round of the Taca de Portugal.
Joao Pedro Sousa's men have now picked up three wins from their most recent four outings across all competitions — with a 4-1 loss at the hands of Arouca on October 10 being the only exception.
Famalicao have now picked up three wins, one draw and lost six of their 10 league matches so far to collect 10 points and sit 14th in the Primeira Liga table, one point above Gil Vicente in the relegation playoff spot.
While they will look to keep the juggernaut rolling and steer clear of the drop zone, Monday's game sees them go up against an opposing side who are unbeaten in seven of their last eight encounters, claiming five wins and two draws since September 2018.
Team News
© Reuters
Vitoria de Guimaraes remain without the services of the defensive duo of Miguel Maga and Bruno Gaspar, who have both been sidelined through injuries.
Andre Silva has been sidelined since coming off injured in August's game against Estoril Praia, while Jorge Fernandes picked up an injury against Braga on September 3.
Twenty-one-year-old Tomas Handel is also out of contention for the hosts as he continues his long journey to full fitness after suffering a knee injury back in February.
With his assists against Pacos de Ferreira, Jose Luis Rodriguez has four goal involvements to his name in the last three games and the summer signing will be one to keep an eye out for.
On the injury front, the Vila Nova will take to the pitch without Martin Aguirregabiria, who sustained an injury in September's league opener against Estoril Praia.
Vitoria de Guimaraes possible starting lineup:
Varela; Amaro, Villanueva, Bamba; Carlos, Andre, Silva, Freitas; Lameiras, Silva, Luz
Famalicao possible starting lineup:
Junior; Penetra, Riccieli, Mihaj, Moura; Pele, Colombatto; Rodriguez, Youssouf, Kadile; Millan
We say: Vitoria de Guimaraes 3-1 Famalicao
Vitoria de Guimaraes and Famalicao have put together a fine run of form in recent weeks and this makes Monday's matchup an exciting one. Os Vimaranenses have been dominant in the history of this fixture and we predict that they will extend their fine run against the visitors by claiming all three points.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Joshua Ojele
