After a month-long break for the first-ever winter World Cup, Gil Vicente and Santa Clara return to action in the Primeira Liga when they lock horns at the Estadio Cidade de Barcelos on Thursday.

Off the back of their respective exits from the Taca da Liga, both sides will head into the midweek match in search of a morale-boosting result as they look to strengthen their position in the league table.

Match preview

Gil Vicente failed to reach the cup semi-finals for the first time since their run to the final in the 2011-12 campaign as they suffered a 3-0 defeat against Porto last Wednesday.

In a game where Danilo Veiga received his marching orders, Wanderson Galeno and Mehdi Taremi scored in either half as Sergio Conceicao's side cruised through the quarter-finals at the Estadio do Dragao.

This followed an unbeaten run in the group stages, where the Gilistas picked up two wins and one draw in three matches to collect seven points and finish top of Group E.

Daniel Sousa's men now turn their attention to the Primeira Liga, where they are currently on a dire run of six consecutive defeats, stretching back to a 2-2 draw against 10-man Rio Ave on September 17.

Off the back of a fifth-placed finish last season, Gil Vicente currently sit 16th in the league standings with nine points from 13 matches, two points away from 15th-placed Famalicao just outside the relegation zone.

While the Barcelos outfit will be looking to return to winning ways and steer clear of the relegation zone, they have struggled to grind out results on home turf, where they are currently on a six-game winless run, claiming two points from a possible 18 since August's 1-0 victory over Pacos de Ferreira.

Santa Clara, on the other hand, were condemned to a group-stage exit from the Taca da Liga after picking up one point from a possible 12 to finish rock-bottom in Group G.

After kicking off their campaign with a 2-1 loss away to Segunda Liga side Leixoes, Os Acoreanos held on for a 1-1 draw with Oliveirense six days later, before suffering successive defeats against Feirense and Arouca in their final two group outings.

Santa Clara now turn their sights to the Primeira Liga, where they will be looking to pick up where they dropped off after claiming a 3-1 comeback victory over Estoril Praia in their final outing before the before the World Cup break on November 14

Mario Silva's men are currently unbeaten in four league matches on the bounce, claiming two wins and two draws since a 2-1 loss against Sporting Lisbon at the Estadio de Sao Miguel on October 8.

While Santa Clara will be looking to return to winning ways, they are without a win in eight of their last nine visits to the Estadio Cidade de Barcelos — losing four and claiming four draws — with a 2-1 victory in September 2017 being the only exception.

Team News

Gil Vicente will take to the pitch without the services of full-back Veiga, who is currently suspended after receiving his marching orders in the cup game against Porto last Wednesday.

In his absence, Porto loanee Carraca should return to the starting XI, forming the back four with Lucas Cunha, Ruben Fernandes and Adrian Marin.

On the injury front, the Gilistas will be without summer signing Lucas Barros, who is yet to make his debut after picking up an injury while in action for Covilha in the Segunda Liga in May.

Meanwhile, Santa Clara will be without Tomas Domingos, who is also out of contention for Thursday's game after coming off with a severe injury back in May.

He is joined on Os Acoreanos's injury table by fellow countryman Bruno Jordao, who has been out of action since May, while Costinha continues his lengthy spell on the sidelines through an ACL injury.

Gil Vicente possible starting lineup:
Kritsyuk; Carraca, Cunha, Fernandes, Marin; Fujimoto, Carvalho, Bueno; Souza, Navarro, Aouacheria

Santa Clara possible starting lineup:
Batista; Sagna, Boateng, Gonzalez, Quintilla; Bobsin, Almeida, Firmino; Ricardinho, Babi, Silva

We say: Gil Vicente 2-2 Santa Clara

While Gil Vicente will be looking to quickly bounce back from their cup disappointment, they have struggled for results at home, where they have won just one and lost six of their last nine matches. However, Santa Clara have suffered a slump in form in recent weeks and are tipping both sides to settle for a share of the spoils.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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