Vitoria de Guimaraes and Moreirense will be looking to bounce back from their midweek cup disappointment when they go head to head in round 10 of the Primeira Liga on Sunday.
Os verdes e brancos journey to the Estadio Dom Afonso Henriques where they have failed to win their last 11 visits since February 2013 and will head into the weekend looking to end this poor run. Â
Match preview
Vitoria de Guimaraes were dumped out of the Taca da Liga in the opening round on Wednesday as they fell to a 2-1 defeat against Braga when the sides met at the Estadio Braga Municipal.
In a game where Toni Borevkovic received his marching orders, Sikou Niakate struck midway through the first half to cancel out Nuno Santos' 10th-minute opener before Bruma converted his 75th-minute penalty to complete the Braga comeback.
Prior to that, Vitoria de Guimaraes were on a six-game unbeaten run across all competitions, claiming three draws and three wins, including back-to-back victories over Celje and Djurgarden in their two Conference League matches.
Rui Borges's men now turn their focus to the Primeira Liga, where they have failed to win their most recent four outings, losing 3-0 at home versus Porto on August 21 before playing out three stalemates in their subsequent three outings.
Like this weekend's hosts, Moreirense suffered a first-round exit from the Taca da Liga as they fell to a 2-0 defeat against Porto when the two sides squared off on Thursday.
Defender Leonardo Buta turned the ball into his net four minutes after the half-hour mark to hand Porto a first-half lead at the Estadio do Dragao before Stephen Eustaquio doubled their advantage with a 61st-minute strike.
Moreirense had won each of their previous three games before the midweek cup defeat, claiming league victories over Santa Clara and Boavista either side of a nervy 2-1 win over third-tier Uniao Santarem in the Taca de Portugal third round on October 19.
Off the back of a sixth-placed finish last season, Cesar Peixoto's side have picked up four wins and two draws from their nine Primeira Liga games to collect 14 points and sit seventh in the league table, one point and one place behind Sunday's hosts.
While Moreirense will be looking to bounce back this weekend and make it three league wins on the trot, next up is the challenge of an opposing side who are unbeaten in 16 of their last 20 clashes, claiming 11 wins and fine draws since September 2012.
Team News
Vitoria de Guimaraes will have to cope without 27-year-old defender Jorge Fernandes, who has been ruled out since picking up an injury against AVS back in August.
Croatian defender Borevkovic will also play no part in this weekend's clash due to a one-game suspension after receiving his marching orders against Braga in midweek.
In his absence, 23-year-old Manuel Silva will push for just his second league start, teaming up with Bruno Gaspar, Mikel Villanueva and Joao Mendes at the defensive end of the pitch.
Moreirense, on the other hand, will be without Guilherme Liberato, who is set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines after coming off with a knee injury against Casa Pia on September 14.
He is joined on Os verdes e brancos' injury table by Hernani Infande, who has been ruled out since picking up a severe injury in March's game against Arouca while Senegalese defender Alhassane Sylla also continues his lengthy spell on the sidelines.
Vitoria de Guimaraes possible starting lineup:
Varela; Gaspar, M Silva, Villanueva, Mendes; T Silva, Handel, Samu; Cesar, Oliveira, Santos
Moreirense possible starting lineup:
Kewin; Pinto, Marcelo, Ponck, Frimpong; Ismael, Ofori; Benny, Alanzinho, Madson; Schettine
We say: Vitoria de Guimaraes 3-1 Moreirense
Still licking their wounds from their Taca Liga exits, Vitoria de Guimaraes and Moreirense will both be looking to mark their return to league action on a more positive note.
Borges's men boast an outstanding home record against Os verdes e brancos and we are backing them to come away with all three points on Sunday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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