It is fifth versus ninth at the Dom Afonso Henriques where Vitoria de Guimaraes await the visit of Nacional as both teams look to begin the New Year on a high.

A Mehdi Taremi brace saw Vitoria de Guimaraes narrowly lose out to Porto despite pushing them all the way, while the visitors ended a three-game losing streak with a 2-0 win against Tondela courtesy of strikes from Ruben Micael and Brayan Riascos.

Match preview

Teams generally tend to perform better at home compared to away but Vitoria de Guimaraes' case so far has been an exception.

Only the league leaders Sporting Lisbon have a better away record than Os Conquistadores but surprisingly, only four teams have picked up fewer points than them at home.

They currently sit fifth but Joao Henriques will know that his team could go even higher provided they start doing better at home, and improving their poor return of four goals in six games would be an ideal starting point.

Following exits from both domestic cups earlier in the month, Vitoria de Guimaraes can now pay full attention to the league where securing European football for next season will be the target.

Nacional have enjoyed a decent start to life back in the top flight since their promotion from the Segunda Liga where they were champions.

Luis Freire's men could cut the gap between them and their hosts to three points should they manage a victory.

Key to their form has been Brayan Riascos, who has continued his goalscoring exploits from last season and currently leads the way for the Alvinegros having scored four goals this term.

However, a victory would take some doing considering the fact that they only rank 14th in terms of away points picked up so far.

Vitoria de Guimaraes Primeira Liga form: LWWWLW
Vitoria de Guimaraes form (all competitions): LWLLWW

Nacional Primeira Liga form: WLLLWD
Nacional form (all competitions): WLLLWW

Team News

Joseph Amoah and Matheus Mascarenhas are both out with knee and muscle injuries respectively while Yann Bisseck still awaits his debut due to a muscle tear that has kept him out since his loan move from Koln.

Both Mikel Agu and Alhassan Wakaso are out with knee problems although the former is expected to make a comeback sooner.

Jorge Fernandes came off with an injury in the defeat to Porto but he should be available for Sunday's game.

Nacional have everybody fit for this one but some changes could be made from the team that won against Tondela last time out.

Bryan Rochez was handed his first league start of the season last time out but he is expected to be dropped for this one in favour of Kenji Gorre or Joao Victor.

Vitoria de Guimaraes possible starting lineup:
Varela; Mensah, Mumin, Fernandes, Sacko; Andre, Pepelu, Almeida; Quaresma, Estupinan, Rochincha

Nacional possible starting lineup:
Daniel; Vigario, Kal, Cesar, Freitas; Nuno, Riascos, Azouni, Ramos, Camacho; Gorre

We say: Vitoria de Guimaraes 2-0 Nacional

Vitoria will look to return to winning ways and should get the job done given the gulf in quality all over the pitch between both teams.

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