Primeira Liga strugglers Maritimo occupy the dreaded relegation playoff spot ahead of their home clash with Vitoria de Guimaraes on Saturday afternoon.

Sitting 19 points clear of Maritimo, seventh-placed Vitoria will be looking to end a six-game winless run when they make the trip to Madeira this weekend.

Match preview

It was always going to be difficult for Maritimo to save their season after they suffered eight successive defeats at the start of the campaign, with a solitary victory coming in their opening 14 Primeira Liga matches.

Although Jose Gomes's men have added five wins to their tally since then, they remain three points from guaranteed safety with five games remaining.

Maritimo raced into a 2-0 lead inside 38 minutes against Famalicao last weekend, courtesy of goals from Brayan Riascos and Andre Vidigal, but the hosts scored three goals after the break to snatch a dramatic victory, with Pablo netting a 98th-minute winner.

As a result, Os Verde-Rubros have lost five of their last seven matches, with 10 defeats coming in their previous 14 outings, so they will need to improve quickly if they are to secure their top-flight status.

Maritimo can take confidence from the fact that they have won three of their last four home games, although they possess the worst defensive record in the division, having conceded 54 goals in 29 games this term.

Vitoria de Guimaraes, on the other hand, enter Saturday's clash on the back of a 2-0 defeat to Sporting, as Moreno's men failed to register a single attempt on target on Monday.

Following 2-1 defeats to Boavista and Famalicao, Os Vimaranenses have lost each of their last three matches, and they have also suffered five defeats across their previous six encounters, scoring just three goals in the process.

Vitoria looked destined to enjoy a strong end to the season when they notched five victories in six league games between January and March, but they now find themselves seven points shy of the European places.

Although Moreno's side have struggled both at home and on the road in recent times, they have been especially poor on their travels of late, suffering three successive away defeats while losing six of their last nine away league outings.

Having conceded at least two goals in five of their previous six matches – suffering a 5-1 thrashing at the hands of Benfica during that period – Vitoria will continue to slide down the standings if they fail to change their current form.

Team News

Maritimo are currently without Italian forward Stefano Beltrame due to injury, while goalkeeper Matous Trmal has not featured for the club since December.

Marcelo Carne will continue between the sticks for the hosts, with Moises Mosquera, Zainadine Junior and Matheus Costa occupying the centre-back roles.

Maritimo will also be without the suspended Edgar Costa this weekend, as the veteran forward was shown a red card in the 3-2 defeat at Famalicao.

As for Vitoria de Guimaraes, Andre Amaro and Bruno Varela look set to miss Saturday's showdown due to injury, so backup goalkeeper Celton Biai will continue to deputise for Varela.

Celtic loanee Mikey Johnston is expected to join Ruben Lameiras and Andre Silva in attack, with Nicolas Janvier and Andre Andre anchoring the visitors' midfield.

Maritimo possible starting lineup:
Carne; Costa, Junior, Mosquera; Paulinho, Afonso, Soares, Costa; Vidigal, Riascos, Correia

Vitoria de Guimaraes possible starting lineup:
Biai; Tounkara, Bamba, Villanueva; Maga, Andre, Janvier, Freitas; Lameiras, Silva, Johnston

We say: Maritimo 1-1 Vitoria de Guimaraes

Given that Maritimo are fighting for their lives at the bottom end of the table, we expect the hosts to pick up a precious point against off-form Vitoria de Guimaraes, whose winless run looks set to continue.

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

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