Preview: Vizela vs. Arouca - prediction, team news, lineups

Arouca recorded a 4-3 victory over Estoril in their campaign opener last weekend, while Vizela suffered a 3-2 defeat to Sporting Lisbon in their first match of the 2023-24 season.

Match preview

Vizela's 2023-24 campaign started against Maritimo in the Taca da Liga on July 22, recording a 2-1 victory, but they were then beaten 1-0 by AVS in the second round of the competition six days later.

Pablo Villar's side would have been looking to bounce back in their Primeira Liga season opener against Sporting Lisbon last weekend, but they were on the wrong end of a 3-2 scoreline.

Vizela came from two goals behind to level the scores heading into the final stages, but Paulinho hit the winner for the Lisbon giants in the ninth minute of added time at the end of the 90.

Vizelenses enjoyed their best-ever finish in Portugal's top flight last season, claiming 11th, so the team should be full of confidence, and plenty of positives can be taken from their first game of the campaign.

Villar's team have been very active this summer in terms of the transfer market, with Dylan Saint-Louis and Orest Lebedenko among those to make the move to the club.

Arouca, meanwhile, beat Rio Ave in the Taca da Liga on July 30 before recording a 2-1 victory over Brann in the first leg of their third qualifying round contest in the Europa Conference League.

Daniel Ramos's side also started their new Primeira Liga campaign with a win, beating Estoril 4-3 in a seven-goal thriller, with Pedro Santos netting the game's winning goal in the 96th minute.

Arouca were actually behind on three separate occasions in the match but an own goal from Volnei Feltes levelled the scores at 3-3 in the 73rd minute before Santos came up with the late winner.

The Portuguese outfit, who finished fifth in the top flight last season, suffered huge disappointment in the second leg of their Europa Conference League third qualifying round clash on Thursday, though, as they lost 3-1 to exit the competition.

Arouca will now be looking to bounce back in Sunday's domestic contest, and the visitors will be the favourites to claim all three points here.

Vizela Primeira Liga form:

Vizela form (all competitions):

Arouca Primeira Liga form:

Arouca form (all competitions):

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Team News

Vizela have not reported any injury problems ahead of their clash with Arouca, so it is expected to be the same squad from the clash with Sporting Lisbon last time out.

A 4-2-3-1 formation should see Samuel Essende lead the line, while Nuno Moreira and Kiko Bondoso are also expected to feature in the final third of the field for the hosts.

Jardel and Lebedenko are among the options for change, while Saint-Louis also make his league debut off the bench last time out and could be in the manager's thinking for a start.

Arouca head coach Ramos will need to assess the fitness of his players following the clash with Brann on Thursday evening, so there could potentially be some surprises in the XI.

The visitors will definitely be without the services of midfielder Eboue Kouassi through suspension due to the red card that he picked up in the seven-goal thriller with Estoril, which could see Oriol Busquets come into the side.

Rafa Mujica and Cristo Gonzalez are already off the mark this season in terms of goals and should continue as the front two, while Nino Galovic will be available despite being sent off in the clash with Brann on Thursday.

Vizela possible starting lineup:

Buntic; Silva, Wilson, Anderson, Pereira; Bustamante, Nascimento; Moreira, Samu, Bondoso; Essende

Arouca possible starting lineup:

De Arruabarrena; Esgaio, Galovic, Opoku, Quaresma; Jason, Busquets, Simao, Sylla; Gonzalez, Mujica

We say: Vizela 1-2 Arouca

Vizela will certainly be the fresher of the two teams entering this match, but it remains to be seen how important that is early in the season. Arouca have the superior quality across their pitch, and we are expecting the visitors to navigate their way to all three points on Sunday.

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