Vizela are going up against guests Rio Ave at Estádio do FC Vizela in this Primeira Liga tie on Saturday.
For all of our match predictions, pre-game poll and statistics for Vizela v Rio Ave, scroll down - plus the latest betting odds.
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Form Guide
Vizela
WLLLLL 🔻
Vizela will be looking to improve on their last outing here after a 2-1 Primeira Liga losing effort in their last game against Braga.
In that game, Vizela managed 42% possession and 5 attempts on goal with 2 of them on target. The only player on the scoresheet for Vizela was Samuel Essende (50'). On the other side, SC Braga had 17 shots at goal with 5 of them on target. Rodrigo Zalazar (53', 85') scored for Braga.
At least three goals per match were seen in 5 of the last 6 fixtures where Vizela have taken part. Their opponents scored 15 times in these games while Vizela amassed a tally of 6. Nonetheless, we’ll just have to find out if that pattern might be sustained in this game.
Coming into this clash, Vizela are without a home win in the past 2 matches in the league.
Rio Ave
DDDWDD 📈
Previously, Rio Ave drew 1-1 in the Primeira Liga match with Arouca.
In that game, Rio Ave had 40% possession and 5 shots on goal with 2 on target. The only player on the scoresheet for Rio Ave was Joca (36'). Arouca got 19 shots on goal with 4 on target. Rafa Mújica (47') scored for Arouca.
A run of accomplished performances from the Rio Ave defenders has resulted in their ‘goals against’ tally standing at 4 from their previous 6 fixtures in total. Over that same period of time, their own forwards have managed to score 7.
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Head to head
The last league meeting between the two was Primeira Liga match day 14 on 16/12/2023 when it finished Rio Ave 1-1 Vizela.
That day, Rio Ave had 60% possession and 15 shots at goal with 4 of them on target. Their only player on the scoresheet was Emmanuel Boateng (72').
Vizela got 7 attempts on goal with 4 of them on target. Samuel Essende (55') was the scorer.
The referee was Gustavo Correia.
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Team News: Vizela
The Vizela manager Rubén de la Barrera will be thankful to have no fitness concerns whatsoever before this match with a completely healthy group available to select from.
In all likelihood, Vizela will possibly use the 4-2-3-1 system this time, beginning the first half with Francesco Ruberto, Tomás Silva, Jota Gonçalves, Anderson, Orest Lebedenko, Diogo Nascimento, Samu, Jason Lokilo, Domingos Quina, Alberto Soro and Samuel Essende.
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Team News: Rio Ave
Thanks to a fully healthy squad ready to go, the Rio Ave boss Luís Freire has zero fitness concerns to speak of ahead of this game.
We reckon that Rio Grande seem likely to elect for a 3-4-3 formation with a starting lineup of Jhonatan, Miguel Nóbrega, Aderllan Santos, Patrick William, Costinha, Mateo Tanlongo, Joao Teixeira, Fábio Ronaldo, Joca, Abdul-Aziz Yakubu and Marios Vrousai.
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Prediction
We’re of the view that Rio Ave and Vizela are both capable of scoring here.
It’s looking like it could well end up as a draw. Our tip is therefore for a tight encounter, finishing with a 1-1 score draw after 90 minutes.
Our expert partners are tipping over 1.5 goals for this match. Check out their VIP predictions here.
Lucas Pereira,
11:08 23/04/2024
🏟️ Team Focus:
Vizela
Formed: 1939
Stadium: Estádio do FC Vizela (6,000)
Captain: Fábio Samu
Chairman: Joaquim de Almeida Ribeiro
Manager: Rubén de la Barrera
Competitions: Primeira Liga position 18
🔑 Key Player: Samuel Essende
Typically deployed in the Striker position, Samuel Essende was born in Montfermeil, France. Having played his first senior match for Eupen in the 2018 - 2019 season, the dangerous Forward has managed 14 league goals in the Liga Portugal 2023 - 2024 campaign so far in a total of 29 appearances.