Vitoria de Guimaraes return to league action with a home encounter against Portimonense on Sunday evening.

The hosts were knocked out of the Taca da Liga by lower-league opposition during the international break.

Match preview

The start of Guimaraes' season has been an extremely curious one to say the least.

A home defeat to Tondela in the cup last week ended their campaign before it even started, just like how their Europa Conference League adventure went.

After edging a seven-goal thriller in Slovenia against Celje in the first leg of their second qualifying round tie, Guimaraes inexplicably lost at home and went out on penalties.

Despite exiting two cup competitions by early September, Paulo Turra's side have actually made a very impressive start on the league front.

Three straight league wins to kick off the domestic season softened the blow of the Celje defeat, leaving them joint-top with Porto and Sporting Lisbon.

While beating Estrela, Gil Vicente and Vizela all looked likely on paper but nonetheless impressive, Guimaraes came crashing back down to earth before the international break, losing 4-0 at Benfica.

Neither side have looked overly-threatening in the final third so far this season, making a repeat of the 3-3 draw between the sides in 2017 look unlikely, when Raphinha, now of Barcelona, scored twice to drag Guimaraes back from 3-0 down.

The hosts have won five of the other six top-flight meetings between the sides here, with Portimonense's only victory coming in 2021 when new Everton signing Beto netted the late winner.

Portimonense will now look towards Ronie Carrillo for similar inspiration as they return to the Estadio Afonso Henriques.

The new signing is off the mark for his new club, but it came in a 4-1 thrashing at the hands of Boavista.

That came after a very concerning 5-0 hammering on the opening day against Gil Vicente, leaving Portimonense bottom after two games.

Paulo Sergio's men have stabilised since, earning two draws to get them off the mark for the season.

While they were fortunate to come away with a draw at Arouca, Portimonense had chances to win it when being held at home by Estrela just before the break.

A win from somewhere is going to be necessary for the visitors though, as they face Benfica, Porto and Braga in their next five after this clash, otherwise they are set to remain in the bottom three.

Team News

Guimaraes were left embarrassed when Turra named a strong squad for the cup tie against Tondela and still lost.

A strong start in the league may see the manager stick with a similar side though, but Joao Mendes remains suspended.

Mikel Villanueva missed out against Tondela but he should return here, while Ricardo Mangas and Telmo Arcanjo remain absent.

Portimonense could be without goalkeeper Kosuke Nakamura, who is a doubt ahead of this clash, after he went off before half time with a shoulder injury in Japan's 4-2 win over Turkey on Tuesday.

Other than that, Sergio should have a full complement to choose from, including 20-year-old Zinho, who arrived late in the transfer window from Gremio.

Dennis Adeniran has joined after leaving Sheffield Wednesday on a free and could take the place of fellow midfielder Mohamed Diaby, who joined the Owls on loan in the summer.

Vitoria de Guimaraes possible starting lineup:
Bruno Varela; Jorge Fernandes, Manu, Villanueva; Bruno Gaspar, Tiago Silva, Handel, Andre Andre, De Freitas; Andre Silva, Jota Silva

Portimonense possible starting lineup:
Vinicius Silvestre; Igor Formiga, Alemao, Filipe Relvas, Goncalo Costa; Carlinhos, Dener, Mauricio; Helio Varela, Carillo, Luan Campos

We say: Vitoria de Guimaraes 2-0 Portimonense

Despite the setback in being knocked out of the cup last week, Guimaraes should emphasise their superiority by returning to winning ways here.

Portimonense have been one of the league's poorest sides in the opening four weeks, and two thrashing against mid-table outfits already suggests another tough day could be in store.


For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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