Vitoria de Guimaraes host wounded Estoril Praia in Sunday's Primeira Liga gameweek two encounter at Estadio Dom Afonso Henriques keen to notch consecutive wins to start the new season.
Vitoria secured a commendable 1-0 result in round one's success over 10-man Arouca, but Estoril were not as fortunate, falling 4-1 to newly promoted Santa Clara on home soil.
Match preview
Having led at Arouca for over 70 minutes Rui Borges must have been relieved by Matias Rocha's 81st-minute sending-off that meant Os Conquistadores played the final 15 minutes including stoppage time against short-handed opponents.
Nelson Oliveira was the game's decider, scoring after 14 minutes to start his first full season at the club positively after arriving in January.
The forward found the back of the net twice in 15 appearances (six starts) in the second part of the previous campaign but seemingly intends to outdo that tally going by last week's goal.
The home support hope for more of the same from their leading striker in gameweek two, keen to continue their impressive run of wins in all competitions in 2024-25.
Including their victories in the UEFA Conference League, the Conquerors have notched five triumphs on the trot and chase a sixth on home soil.
Having navigated every match without conceding a goal, Borges will back his side to claim maximum points on Sunday with another shutout in front of their fans.
Estoril's first task is to find the back of the net against the home side to halt their commendable run of clean sheets as they seek to bounce back from last week's humiliation on home soil.
A 4-1 loss to the league returnees was not what Vasco Seabra had in mind against Santa Clara, with the defeat continuing the club's wretched form from the previous campaign.
Magico Estoril claimed one victory in their final seven league fixtures in 2023-24, losing three on the trot to close out the term.
That losing streak now stands at four heading into the second gameweek of 2024-25, and the Canaries aim to halt that unwanted sequence against an in-form side.
Despite scoring in all but one game through that run of defeats, their propensity to concede has put them in challenging situations, and they aim to find solutions against Vitoria this weekend.
Team News
Vitoria have no reported injury issues heading into their second league fixture, giving Borges a healthy squad for Sunday.
Having notched twice in all competitions this season, including the game-clinching strike last weekend, Oliveira hopes to continue his admirable start to the campaign.
Jordan Holsgrove has not played for Estoril since January, and the long-term absentee is not expected back this weekend.
It remains to be seen if Wagner Pina retains his spot in the XI after last week's torrid outing against Santa Clara, with the right-back winning two of six ground duels and unable to live with his opposing wide man in the loss.
Vitoria de Guimaraes possible starting lineup:
Varela; Gasper, Fernandes, Borevkovic, Mendes; Silva, Handel; Cesar, Samu, Mangas; Oliveira
Estoril Praia possible starting lineup:
Figueira; Pina, Alvaro, Mangala, Amaral; Orellana, Zanocelo, Costa; Guitane, Marques, Begraoui
We say: Vitoria de Guimaraes 2-0 Estoril Praia
Despite their midweek exertions in Europe, Vitoria are backed to continue their unblemished start to the new season, thus notching a sixth consecutive victory over an Estoril side that have seemingly not resolved the defensive issues from the previous campaign.
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