In round 18 of the Primeira Liga, Vitoria de Guimaraes who was eliminated in the fifth round of the Taca de Portugal will be hosting Arouca on Saturday.
The Arouquenses come into the game having been defeated in each of the past three encounters between the two sides, and as a result, they will be looking to spring an upset over the home side at the Estadio Dom Afonso Henriques and achieve successive wins for the first time since the month of April.
Vitoria de Guimaraes crashed out of the Taca de Portugal in the fifth round after they were stunned 2-1 by a lower division side, O Elvas at the Campo Domingos Carrilho Patalino on Sunday.
Michel Dieu-Merci put the visitors ahead after only 180 seconds but Lucao equalized five minutes to the end of the first half half before Desmond Nketia sealed the victory with a goal in the 75th minute.
This was in keeping with their poor run of form in the Primeira Liga in which Vitoria de Guimaraes have not won any of their last five fixtures, with one loss and four draws since a 4-0 away win against Gil Vicente on 2 December.
Luis Freire men remain mediocre by getting only two wins in their last 12 games in the league, they have been 3 times losers and 7 times drawing, but at the start of the season they had 4-5 games ending up with five.
This poor run of results has seen Vitoria de Guimaraes occupy the sixth position in the Primeira Liga log, having accrued 25 points in their 17 games, six points behind number four, Braga, in the European qualification tournament.
However, when Arouca and 10-man Boavista faced off at the Estadio do Bessa on December 4, Arouca came through late in their first game of the year, winning 3-1.
Salvador Agra scored in the 71st minute to cancel out Jason's first-half goal in a match where Sebastian Perez was given the boot, but Guven Yalcin scored twice in stoppage time to give the visitors a thrilling victory.
After failing to win the six games across all competitions prior to this streak, Arouca has now won two of their last four games and drawn one, going undefeated in their last three games.
Vasco Seabra's team has improved their play, pulling three points clear of Boavista, who are currently at the bottom of the league standings. If they win this weekend, they might tie the 12th-place Estoril Praia on 18 points.
But Arouca will have to contend with a team that has won all three of their past encounters and is undefeated in 15 of their last 18 games, with 11 victories and four draws since January 2011.Vasco Seabra's team has improved their play, pulling three points clear of Boavista, who are currently at the bottom of the league standings. If they win this weekend, they might tie the 12th-place Estoril Praia on 18 points.
On the other hand, Arouca must contend with a defeated opponent.
