Vitoria de Guimaraes and Arouca are separated by two places in the Primeira Liga table preceding Saturday's meeting at Estadio D. Afonso Henriques.
Vitoria continued their positive run with a 3-1 success at Santa Clara on Sunday, but this weekend's visitors were held to a goalless game at Santa Clara in the same gameweek.
Match preview
The preceding year ended on a disappointing note for Moreno Teixeira's troops, and two defeats from their opening three matches of 2023 suggested their slide could not be halted.
However, the ones from Guimaraes have turned the tide since that 1-0 loss at the hands of Porto in January, picking up five victories from their next six games in the top flight.
With 16 points accrued from a possible 18, Vitoria are fifth and assured of that position regardless of the outcome of this weekend's fixture.
They fell to seventh after the defeat by Porto but the recent resurgence, coupled with Casa Pia's dip and Arouca's indifferent results, sees Moreno's men occupy a Conference League qualification spot for next season.
Five points separate them from the side in sixth, while they hold a six-point lead over this weekend's visitors, giving them some margin for error in the race to end in the European spots.
Vitoria trail Sporting Lisbon by seven points, meaning they can only close the gap on the fourth-placed side with a positive result against Arouca on Saturday.
As for Arouquenses, the season has been an undoubted success because they narrowly avoided immediate relegation from the competition in 2021-22.
Armando Evangelista's team finished two places and three points ahead of the league's bottom two, also narrowly avoiding the relegation playoffs by ending two points better than Moreirense, so this year's position is commendable.
They sit seventh in the Primeira Liga, only two places behind the side they visit on Saturday, opening a possibility of halving the gap from six points to three.
That said, Evangelista's side have seen consistency desert them at a point when Vitoria have hit a rich vein of form in the top flight, evidenced by claiming just two wins from their last six games.
In that period, the fifth-placed club have secured eight more points than Arouca, ergo seeing the current six-point gap open between the sides.
That said, positives must be taken from the last two results, where they have picked up four points from two matches and could make it three without defeat on Saturday.
The reverse fixture saw Evangelista's team lose a 2-1 lead at the death with the concession of a late penalty resulting in the eventual 2-2 draw.
Team News
Tiago Silva was suspended for last week's game at Santa Clara, and the Vitoria midfielder should start on Saturday.
Ze Carlos is still sidelined with a foot injury and is not expected to return at the weekend, while Jorge Fernandes and Tomas Handel are out.
Pedro Rafael Oliveira could continue in goal for Bruno Varela, who missed last week's win through injury.
The in-form Alisson Safira has netted five times in Vitoria's impressive run, so the forward should keep his place in Moreno's lineup.
Jose Manuel Velazquez has not played for Arouca all season, and the centre-back is not expected to make the team for Saturday's fixture.
Vitinho is still out with the injury that has prevented him from appearing domestically since October.
Having returned after a month out against Boavista last weekend, Tiago Esgaio is likely to start at left-back against Vitoria, with Evangelista expected to utilise a 4-3-3.
Vitoria de Guimaraes possible starting lineup:
Oliveira; Amaro, Bamba, Villanueva; Miaga, D. Silva, T. Silva, Freitas; Andre Silva, Safira, Anderson Silva
Arouca possible starting lineup:
Arruabarrena; Milovanov, Basso, Galovic, Esgaio; Ruiz, Soro, Simao; Sylla, Mujica, Alves
We say: Vitoria de Guimaraes 2-1 Arouca
Vitoria have won five in six, which is expected to become six in seven, with their impressive sequence of wins facing an Arouca side that struggles on their travels, claiming just two wins on the road all season.
Without a triumph on their travels since November 5, their five-game away run without a win should extend to six.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
body check tags ::
Previews by email
