Following a lengthy break for the first-ever winter World Cup break, Vizela and Vitoria de Guimaraes return to action in the Primeira Liga when they square off on Friday.
Less than two months on from a 2-1 extra-time defeat when the sides met for a place in the last 16 of the Taca de Portugal, the Vizelenses will head into the weekend looking to get one over the visitors.
Match preview
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Vizela were condemned to yet another early cup exit as they finished third in Group A of the Taca da Liga after picking up just two points from a possible nine.
Having kicked off their campaign with successive draws against Chaves and Segunda Liga outfit Mafra in their opening two outings, Vizela suffered a 4-0 loss against Porto in their group finale on December 16.
Vizela now turn their sights to the Primeira Liga, where they ended a three-game winless run in their final outing before the World Cup break as they saw off Pacos de Ferreira 2-0 on November 13.
Manuel Tulipa's men have picked up four wins, three draws and lost six of their 13 matches to collect 15 points and sit 13th in the league table, six points above the relegation playoff spot.
While the Vizelenses will be looking to make their return to the Primeira Liga with a win, they have struggled for results on home turf, where they are winless in six of their seven matches across all competitions this season, losing four and claiming two draws.
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Elsewhere, Vitoria de Guimaraes were involved in a share of the spoils in each of their three Taca da Liga matches to collect three points and finish second in Group F, four points off first-placed Boavista.
With one less competition to worry about, Joao Teixeira's men can now focus on both the Taca de Portugal and Primeira Liga, where they will be looking to build on their stellar first half of the season.
Os Vimaranenses, who have been drawn against Braga in the last 16 of the cup, are currently sixth in the Primeira Liga table, level on 23 points with fifth-placed Casa Pia in the final Europa Conference League qualifying spot.
Vitoria de Guimaraes head into the weekend unbeaten in seven of their last eight league outings, claiming two draws and five victories, including a 1-0 home win over Maritimo in their final outing before the World Cup break on December 13.
Next up is the challenge of a Vizela side who have lost four of the last five meetings between the teams since December 2016, with January's 3-2 victory being the exception.
Team News
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Vizela will take to the pitch without the services of Nigerian striker Friday Etim, who is currently suspended after picking up a straight red card in the cup clash against Mafra on December 5.
In his absence, Alexander Schmidt was tasked with leading the attack against Porto last time out and we expect the Austrian striker to retain his role up top, alongside Kiko Bondoso and Kevin Zohi, who has five goal involvements in his last seven matches.
At the opposite end of the pitch, we should see a back four of Igor Juliao, Bruno Wilson, Ivanildo Fernandes and skipper Kiki Afonso, with Fabijan Buntic between the sticks.
As for Vitoria de Guimaraes, they will be without 22-year-old midfielder Tomas Handel, who continues his long journey to full fitness after suffering a knee injury back in February.
Portuguese youngster Miguel Maga returned to action against Boavista last time out for the first time since sustaining a collarbone injury against Portimonense back in August and the 20-year-old should retain his role at right-back.
Vizela possible starting lineup:
Buntic; Juliao, Wilson, Fernandes, Afonso; Claudemir, Guzzo, Samu; Bondoso, Osmajic, Zohi, Schmidt
Vitoria de Guimaraes possible starting lineup:
Varela; Amaro, Tounkara, Villanueva; Ze Carlos, Silva, Andre, Sa; Lameiras, Johnston, Silva
We say: Vizela 1-2 Vitoria de Guimaraes
Vitoria de Guimaraes have enjoyed an impressive first half of the season and find themselves in the upper echelons of the league table. Os Vimaranenses have enjoyed the better of this fixture and we are backing them to come away with all three points against a Vizela side who have struggled for results on home turf.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Joshua Ojele
