With little more than pride on the line, Gil Vicente and Arouca face off this weekend at Estadio Cidade de Barcelos, each looking to round off their Primeira Liga campaign with a positive result.
Although the Roosters fell to a 2-1 defeat at Sporting Lisbon, they secured their place in the top flight for another season as AVS failed to claim the points needed in their own clash against Boavista, while the visitors have also sealed survival heading into the final stretch.
Match preview
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Gil Vicente have collected 32 points from eight wins, eight draws and 16 losses this season, which is enough to keep their heads above water with an eight-point buffer from the relegation playoff position with two matches left to play.
Nevertheless, there is a sense of regression at the club, given their declining points tally across the last three seasons — 51, 37 and 36, respectively — and unless the Roosters pick up something on Saturday, they risk recording their fewest total since returning to the top flight in 2019-20.
The narrow loss to Sporting snapped a brief two-game winning streak, but there was credit in defeat for Gil Vicente, who opened the scoring through Felix Correia in the 25th minute, only to be undone by late efforts from Maxi Araujo and Eduardo Quaresma that ensured the hosts took all three points.
Despite that setback, Cesar Peixoto's men are enjoying one of their brighter spells in recent months, having picked up three wins from their last six outings after previously going eight without a single success, offering a glimpse of encouragement ahead of this weekend's matchup.
However, history is not on their side in this fixture, with the Roosters failing to defeat Arouca in all 16 previous meetings, losing four of the last seven, although the most recent two encounters ended level — a 2-2 draw at the Barcelos last season and a 1-1 result in December's reverse.
Encouragingly, Gil Vicente halted a seven-game losing streak and ended a barren run of six consecutive home games without a goal by edging Farense 1-0 recently and now have the opportunity to register back-to-back league wins on their own patch for the first time this campaign.
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Meanwhile, Arouca are beginning to run dry in the attacking third, having failed to score in their last two matches after previously finding the net in five consecutive outings.
The Wolves have endured a rough patch in recent weeks, managing just one victory in their last seven games (D3, L3), with a draw and a defeat in their most recent two appearances.
After falling 2-0 at Santa Clara, Arouca were left frustrated last time out as they played out a goalless draw with Casa Pia despite having a numerical advantage for the entire second half following Jose Fonte's dismissal just before the break.
That result leaves Vasco Seabra's side 12th on the table with 34 points from eight victories, 10 draws and 14 defeats, and they could climb as high as 10th with a win on Saturday, depending on outcomes elsewhere.
However, their recent away form makes that prospect less certain, with the Wolves going three games without success on the road (D1, L2), a far cry from the five that preceded it, in which they were unbeaten, taking maximum points in three.
Team News
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Sandro Cruz, Ruben Fernandes, Sergio Bermejo and Marvin Elimbi remain doubts for the Roosters and will face late fitness tests to determine their involvement.
Jonathan Mutombo filled in at left-back against Sporting, but Cruz could return to the position if he passes his assessment in time.
Jonathan Buatu impressed in Lisbon, and manager Peixoto is expected to keep faith with him at the heart of the defence, particularly if Elimbi remains unavailable.
Arouca head coach Seabra will need to make changes in midfield following the suspension of Taichi Fukui for an accumulation of bookings, with Mamadou Loum likely to come into the starting lineup after serving his own ban.
Alfonso Trezza is also suspended after being dismissed during stoppage time in the previous game, potentially opening the door for Morlaye Sylla to slot in.
On the injury front, Nino Galovic, David Simao, Tiago Esgaio and Matias Rocha all remain unavailable as they continue their respective recoveries.
Gil Vicente possible starting lineup:
Andrew; Cruz, Mawesi, Elimbi, Carlos; Fujimoto, Garcia, Caseres; Bermejo, Aguirre, Correia
Arouca possible starting lineup:
Mantl; Weverson, Lamba, Fontan, Pinto; Loum, Santos; Sylla, Mansilla, Jason; Nandin
We say: Gil Vicente 1-1 Arouca
With nothing riding on the outcome for either side, the intensity may be dialled down, and a draw looks a likely outcome, particularly with Arouca's recent struggles cancelling out their historic dominance in the fixture, while Gil Vicente's last home win might prove to be an exception rather than the start of a trend.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Adeyeye Oluwapelumi
