Arouca will be aiming to move clear of the relegation zone this weekend when they visit the Dom Afonso Henriques to face Vitoria de Guimaraes on Saturday.

The visitors, meanwhile, head into the game unbeaten in each of their last nine meetings between the sides since 2014 and will look to keep this fine run going.

Match preview

Vitoria de Guimaraes continue to struggle for form in the Portuguese Primeira Liga as they suffered a surprise 1-0 defeat at the hands of rock-bottom Belenenses last Sunday.

Following a drab first half at the Estadio Nacional do Jamor, Brazilian forward Safira came up trumps for O Belem as he netted five minutes after the interval to hand them just their third league win of the season.

This was the latest in Vitoria de Guimaraes' recent string of poor performances on the road as they have now failed to win any of their most recent five away games, while managing just one from their last nine.

However, Pepa's side have made up for this on home turf where they are currently unbeaten in seven straight games — picking up five wins and two draws — and rank fifth on the league's home record table with 20 points from 10 games.

With 30 points from 22 games, Vitoria de Guimaraes are currently sixth in the Primeira Liga standings, seven points adrift of Gil Vicente in the final Conference League qualification spot.

Arouca, on the other hand, were left empty-handed for the second game running as they fell to a humbling 3-0 defeat against Maritimo at the Estádio Municipal de Arouca last time out.

Twenty-six-year-old forward Ali Alipour turned in a performance of the highest quality as he scored either side of Joel Tagueu's 27th-minute strike to hand the visitors a comprehensive victory.

Arouca have now failed to win any of their most recent three games, picking up one point and failing to find the target in that time, while managing just one victory in each of their last 10.

With 18 points from 22 games, Armando Evangelista's men are currently 17th in the league standings, three points above rock-bottom Belenenses, but could steer clear of the relegation places with all three points on Saturday.

However, standing in their way is an opposing side who are unbeaten in each of the last nine meetings between the sides since 2014, claiming six wins and three draws in that time.

Team News

Vitoria de Guimaraes will take to the pitch without Portuguese youngster Miguel Maga after the 19-year-old defender picked up an injury in the game against Braga two weeks back.

Other than that, Pepa has a full-strength squad at his disposal and we expect the Portuguese manager to line up his preferred 4-2-3-1 formation with Oscar Estupinan returning to the starting XI after sitting out the game against Belenenses last time out.

Meanwhile, Arouca remain without the services of goalkeeper Fernando Augusto and Jose Manuel Velazquez, who are recuperating from shoulder and knee injuries respectively.

Twenty-three-year-old midfielder Moses Yaw also continues his spell on the sidelines after suffering a severe muscle problem last April, while Alan Ruiz made his return from an injury lay-off to make his debut against Maritimo last time out.

David Simao, who also signed for the club in the January window, came off injured in the game against Porto two weeks ago and the midfielder is out of contention for the Arouquenses.

Oday Dabbagh, who has four goals and one assist to his name this season, is also set to sit out his third consecutive outing after coming off injured against Famalicao back in January.

Vitoria de Guimaraes possible starting lineup:
Varela; Soares, Fernandes, Borevkovic, Ferreira; Almeida, Handel; Janvier, Rochinha, Silva; Estupinan

Arouca possible starting lineup:
Braga; Thales, Basso, Ba, Quaresma; Eboue, Ruiz, L Silva; Bukia, Nunes, A Silva

We say: Vitoria de Guimaraes 2-0 Arouca

Vitoria de Guimaraes will be looking to restore some pride after their shocking defeat at the hands of rock-bottom Belenenses last time out. They will fancy their chances against an out-of-sorts Arouca side who have managed just one win from their last 10 outings in all competitions. The hosts are also unbeaten in each of their last 10 encounters with the Arouquenses and we are backing them to extend their dominance and bounce back to winning ways this weekend.

Previews by email