Looking to end their run of five games without a win, Gil Vicente travel to the Estadio Antonio Coimbra da Mota to square off against Estoril Praia on Sunday.

The hosts, who have settled in nicely in the big leagues, will be keen to immediately return to winning ways after dropping points in each of their most two recent outings.

Match preview

Estoril Praia were denied a fourth away victory on the bounce last Monday when they played out a 1-1 draw against Boavista at the Estadio do Bessa.

After falling behind to Gustavo Sauer's spot kick midway through the first half, Andre Franco scored his third goal of the season to draw the Canarinhos level in the 71st minute.

This followed a narrow 1-0 defeat at the hands of defending champions Sporting Lisbon, where Pedro Porro grabbed the breakthrough strike from the spot in the 67th minute to end their run of three straight wins.

Estoril Praia are unbeaten in all but one of their seven games to date, picking up four wins and two draws and this fine start to the season has been owing to their solid performance at the defensive end of the pitch, where they boast the fifth-best record in the division with five goals conceded.

The newly-promoted side, who were crowned Segunda Liga champions last term, are currently in fourth place in the Primeira Liga standings and could move level on 17 points with Porto and Sporting Lisbon with a win this weekend.

Meanwhile, Gil Vicente were left empty handed last time out when they were condemned to a 2-1 defeat by high-flying Porto on home turf.

In an end-to-end affair between the sides at the Estadio Cidade de Barcelos, Mehdi Taremi's ninth-minute opener was cancelled out by Samuel Lino 15 minutes later, but Sergio Oliveira restored Porto's lead with one minute remaining in the game.

The Gilistas have now failed to taste victory since opening the season with successive wins over Boavista and Portimonense, picking up two draws and losing three.

This slump in form has seen Ricardo Soares's men drop to 10th place in the table, and the 46-year-old will feel the need to push his side for maximum points in this contest as they risk falling into the bottom half of the table with more dropped points.

However, they face the uphill task of going up against an opposing side, whom they have failed to defeat in each of their last six attempts, picking up three draws and losing three since their last win back in 2013.

Team News

Estoril Praia have no concerns on the injury front and on the back of his side's impressive performance against Boavista last time out, head coach Bruno Pinheiro could name a similar starting XI this weekend.

However, Bruno Lourenco, who has a four-goal contribution in seven appearances, was dropped to the bench in the aforementioned game, but we expect the 23-year-old forward to return to the mix and provide more firepower in attack for the Canarinhos.

The duo of forward Chiquinho and goalkeeper Daniel Figueira face the risk of a one-game suspension after picking up their fourth booking of the season.

Meanwhile, Gil Vicente will be unable to call upon the services of Brazilian midfielder Joao Afonso, who continues his spell on the sidelines after picking up an injury back in April's game against Moreirense.

The Gilistas will be boosted by the return of Antoine Leautey, who was handed a 27-minute cameo against Porto last time out, having recovered from a knee problem.

However, Portuguese manager Ricardo Soares will only be allowed to watch from the stands after receiving a red card in the aforementioned game and in his absence assistant coach Bruno Macedo will take over the reins on Sunday.

Estoril Praia possible starting lineup:
Figueira; Soria, Patrick, Africo, Joaozinho; Geraldes, Gamboa; Gomes, Chiquinho, Geraldes; Lourenco

Gil Vicente possible starting lineup:
Frelih; Talocha, Fernandes, Cunha, Carlos; Pedrinho, Carvalho; Fujimoto; Lino, Murillo, Navarro

We say: Estoril Praia 1-0 Gil Vicente

Estoril Praia have enjoyed a dream start to their top-flight campaign and currently find themselves in fourth place with four wins from their opening seven games. We predict they will take the positives from their draw against Boavista and return to winning ways as they take on an out-of-sorts Gil Vicente side.

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