Preview: Maritimo vs. Gil Vicente - prediction, team news, lineups

Maritimo will look to record a fourth consecutive league win on Wednesday, when they play host to Gil Vicente.

An upturn in form has seen Os Verde-Rubros move out of the relegation zone and up to 12th spot in the Primeira Liga table, while their visitors now sit one point and one place behind in 13th place.

Match preview

Maritimo picked up an impressive victory last time out, as they welcomed fourth-placed Braga to the Estadio dos Barreiros.

The game remained goalless until Diederrick Joel Tagueu netted his eighth league goal of the season to seal another crucial win.

That stretched the Madeira outfit's winning run to three matches in the Primeira Liga, having previously defeated both Rio Ave and Boavista 1-0.

As a result, Julio Velazquez's side have hugely boosted their chances of survival, leaping from the drop zone to 12th spot, with a six-point gap between themselves and the bottom two.

Velazquez was brought in to the club in March to replace Milton Mendes with Os Verde-Rubros sat at the foot of the table, and he has brought about a huge upturn in form, with Maritimo winning five of his first eight games in the hot seat.

His side will now look to record a fourth consecutive victory to take another step towards confirming their safety.

They take on a Gil Vicente side who will also look to drag themselves further away from the drop zone with what would be a crucial win on Wednesday.

Os Gilistas picked up a somewhat disappointing result last time out, as they were held to a goalless draw at home to 17th-placed Farense.

That followed consecutive defeats for Ricardo Soares's side, as they fell to a 3-0 defeat at the hands of 14th-placed Famalicao and a 2-1 loss to 11th-placed Belenenses.

As a result, Gil Vicente have quickly been dragged back into the fight for survival, now sitting three points ahead of Boavista in the relegation playoff place and five points above the automatic drop zone.

With four games left of the campaign, Soares will know that his side are far from safe at this stage, and they will be desperate to end a three-game winless run to increase the gap between themselves and the drop zone, leapfrogging Wednesday's opponents as a result.

Team News

Maritimo forward Rodrigo Pinho recently suffered another setback in his battle with injuries this season, and he could remain out for this game having missed the last two matches.

They have still managed to pick up crucial goals in his absence though, with attackers Diederrick Joel Tagueu and Ali Alipour firing Os Verde-Rubros to three consecutive 1-0 wins, and they are expected to lead the attack again on Wednesday.

At the other end of the pitch, Leo Andrade and Zainadine Junior will continue their solid centre-back pairing, having kept three consecutive clean sheets to help Velazquez's men to pick up nine crucial points.

Gil Vicente should come into this game with a fairly clean bill of health, with only forwards Miullen and Alaa Abbas remaining out with long-term injuries.

The line will be led by Pedro Marques, who netted his fourth league goal of the season in their recent defeat to Belenenses.

Soares is expected to deploy the same back four that kept a clean sheet against Farense last time out, with Rodrigao and Ruben Fernandes partnering up at the heart of the defence.

Maritimo possible starting lineup:
Abedzadeh; Winck, Andrade, Junior, China; Guitane, Santos, Pelagio; Costa, Alipour, Tagueu

Gil Vicente possible starting lineup:
Denis; Pereira, Rodrigao, Fernandes, Talocha; Fujimoto, Pedrinho, Goncalves, Lourency; Mineiro, Marques

We say: Maritimo 1-0 Gil Vicente

The hosts come into this game in far better form than their opponents, and we see them stretching their winning run to four games on Wednesday.

Os Verde-Rubros have built a solid back line, and that should provide the foundations for them to go and seal another narrow win at the Estadio dos Barreiros.