Gil Vicente vs Sporting

Gil Vicente are headed to the match in the 15th gameweek in search of their third consecutively Primeira Liga win on Sunday against a Sporting Lisbon side that is still finding its footing without Ruben Amorim.

Even if the Lions have celebrated wins against Boavista (3-2) and Santa Clara (2-1), they have not impressed much, as they have required extra time for the second triumph, and they hope to stay clear of_failure against an adversary that have been rather difficult to defeat at Estadio Cidade de Barcelos so far this term: only one loss in six rounds.

When Gil Vicente step onto the football pitch to face the defending champions on Sunday, they will do so with their eyes open to the fact that Sporting have not been adding up the wins since the Amorin era.

Bruno Pinheiro expects his players to take advantage of the lapse displayed by the team at the top to ensure they seal their third consecutive Liga win, having defeated Nacional 2-1 and Farense, the League’s basement side 1-0.

Galos last managed to achieve this in April 2021 by beating Vitoria Guimaraes (4-2), Nacional (2-0), and Rio Ave (2-0), and the host wants the quite impressive home matches, combined with Sporting recent decline, to bring some hope in Barcelos.

The fans could play a pivotal part in how this weekend plays out, given the home side's wretched sequence of results against Sporting: What is more, if taking into consideration the last 10 confrontations between the two clubs, it is possible to admit that the team was left without a single victorious streak for 10 confrontations, having only one draw and nine failures.

Nevertheless, such a poor run will provide Galos an opportunity to exact their first loss against the Lions’ company in this context since December 2019, where Silas was still present in Lisbon.

The latest wins again Boavista and Santa Clara came right after a series of four consecutive losses in all competitions thus provoking doubts in relation to the choice to replace Amorim, Even the prior serie of losses in the competition mentoined above brought Benfica within a point distance from Leoes at the top of the Primeira Liga.

Joao Pereira hopes that his team's midweek extra-time efforts in the 2-1 cup victory against Santa Clara won't stop them from winning three straight games.
The Green and Whites will play before their rivals in second place, who won't play until Monday against Estoril.

Vitor Bruno's team is the favorite to win all possible points at Moreirense on Saturday, but third-place Porto, two points behind the reigning champions, could have passed Sporting before Sunday.

If that turns out to be the case, Pereira's club might need three points on Sunday to avoid losing the top spot in the standings going into Christmas, which didn't seem likely after Amorim left for Manchester United in November.

Caue may be replaced at center-forward on Sunday by Jorge Aguirre, who is suspended following his tardy dismissal at Farense.

With Sphephelo Sithole (broken leg) the only known absence for the home team prior to facing the Lisbon giants, Galos have a rather healthy roster.

Both Jeremiah St Juste and Ricardo Esgaio will not play for Sporting this weekend after being sent off in Taca de Portugal's victory over Santa Clara.

Viktor Gyokeres has scored in back-to-back Liga games against Boavista and the Portuguese Cup match against Santa Clara, and he looks to add to his 18 top-flight goals in gameweek 15 after scoring once in four games under Pereira.

With four victories, four draws, and six losses in their 14 Liga Portugal games, Gil Vicente has amassed 16 points, which puts them in tenth position and five points above the relegation zone.

The Gilistas defeated Farense 1-0 on the road on Saturday to record their second straight league victory for the first time since January 2024.

After losing four straight league games, there is little question that this unexpected comeback has spurred a better performance.

Sporting Lisbon has changed dramatically since Joao Pereira took over as manager. In addition to their poor play, their defense has been in ruins, giving up six straight goals in all competitions.