Preview: Vitoria de Guimaraes vs. Estoril Praia - prediction, team news, lineups

Os Vimaranenses head into the weekend fresh off the back of crashing out of the Conference League qualifiers and will look to quickly move on from that result.

Match preview

Vitoria de Guimaraes kicked off their 2022-23 Primeira Liga campaign on a high as they claimed a slender 1-0 victory away to newly-promoted Chaves last Sunday.

Brazilian forward Andre Silva came up trumps for the visitors as he netted the only goal at the Estadio Municipal Eng. Manuel Branco Teixeira to hand the Flavienses their first defeat of the season

Miguel Teixeira's men returned to the Dom Afonso Henriques three days later where they claimed a 1-0 victory over Hajduk Split when the sides met in the second leg of their Conference League third qualifying round.

Despite their hard-earned victory, a 3-1 defeat in the first leg on August 4 meant Os Vimaranenses were sent packing from the race for a place in the European tournament as they lost 3-2 on aggregate against the Croatian outfit.

Vitoria de Guimaraes head into the weekend unbeaten in each of their last six outings in the Primeira Liga, claiming three wins and three draws while scoring 13 goals and keeping three clean sheets since April's 1-0 loss to Porto.

Like the hosts, Nelson Verissimo's Estoril Praia got their domestic assignment off to a winning start as they comfortably saw off Famalicao 2-0 when the sides squared off last Saturday.

In an action-packed contest at the Antonio Coimbra da Mota, Francisco Geraldes and Arthur Gomes scored first-half goals to put the hosts ahead before Alex Millan failed to reduce the deficit when he failed to convert his 52nd-minute penalty.

Prior to that, the Canarinhos were on a run of four consecutive defeats across all competitions, losing their three pre-season friendly outings against Brighton and Hove Albion, Fulham and Vilafranquense respectively.

Estoril Praia head into Sunday without an away win in the Primeira Liga this year, picking up two draws and losing six of their nine outings since a 1-0 victory over Belenenses in December 2021.

While they will be looking to end this poor run, next up is the stern challenge of taking on an opposing side who they have failed to defeat in their last three attempts since 2017, losing twice and claiming one draw in that time.

Vitoria de Guimaraes Primeira Liga form:

Vitoria de Guimaraes form (all competitions):

Estoril Praia Primeira Liga form:

Estoril Praia form (all competitions):

Team News

Vitoria de Guimaraes will take to the pitch without the services of Indio Matheus, who received his marching orders late in the game against Chaves last time out.

On the injury front, Os Vimaranenses will have to make do with the absence of 22-year-old midfielder Tomas Handel, who has been out of action since February through a severe muscle injury.

Silva delivered the goods for Teixeira's men once again and the Brazilian forward, who registered nine goals and three assists in the league last season, should spearhead the attacking hosts' attack, alongside Ruben Lameiras and Jota Silva.

Meanwhile, Verissimo will be unable to call upon the services of Lucas Africo, who is yet to feature this year after coming off with a severe knee injury following the game against Vizela last November.

Estoril Praia recently completed the signing of goalkeeper Pedro Silva from league rivals Vizela and the 25-year-old, who made 17 appearances last season, will challenge Daniel Figueira for the number one spot this weekend.

Vitoria de Guimaraes possible starting lineup:

Varela; Maga, Fonseca Amaro, Villanueva, Sa; Silva, Bamba; Lameiras, Almeida, J Silva; A Silva

Estoril Praia possible starting lineup:

Figueira; Esteves, Alvaro, Vital, Joaozinho; Rosier, Ndiaye; Gouveia, Geraldes, Gomes; Carlos

We say: Vitoria de Guimaraes 2-1 Estoril Praia

Vitoria de Guimaraes and Estoril Praia have kicked off their domestic assignment on a high and will look to keep the juggernaut rolling. However, we are backing the home side to take the positives from Wednesday's result and claim a slender victory over the Canarinhos.

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