Vitoria Guimaraes vs Penafiel prediction 11.01.2024

• Competition: Taca de Portugal &— 1/8 Finals
• Date: Thursday, 11th January 2024
• Kickoff: 20:15 UTC / 21:15 CET
• Venue: Estádio D. Afonso Henriques (Guimarães)

In the Taca de Portugal 1/8 Finals, Vitoria Guimaraes from Liga Portugal will compete against Penafiel from Liga Portugal 2. The match is scheduled to take place on Thursday evening at Estádio D. Afonso Henriques in Guimarães.

In recent times, Vitoria Guimaraes has consistently ranked between fifth and seventh place. They secured sixth place in Liga Portugal last year, earning them a spot in the Europe Conference League Qualifiers. However, their European journey was cut short after being defeated in the second qualifying round by the underdog team, Celje from Slovenia. Since appointing a new coach in October, the Conquistadores have seen noticeable improvements. Currently, they hold the fifth position in the Liga Portugal with 30 points, just three points shy of fourth-placed Braga, and five points away from third-placed Porto.

Penafiel is currently in their ninth straight season in the Liga Portugal 2. They had an underwhelming performance last season, finishing in 12th place. Although this may not seem too bad, they were just four points away from the relegation playout, making their position more precarious than it appeared. This season, the Rubro-Negros are once again having a disappointing run. However, they managed to move up to 14th place after gaining seven points in their last three games, putting them only one point away from the relegation playout spot.

Vitoria Guimaraes vs Penafiel pick: Vitoria Guimaraes to win and cover the -1.5 AH spread

Vitoria Guimaraes are currently on a remarkable unbeaten streak of six games, including a 3:2 victory over Sporting, who are leading the league, at Estádio D. Afonso Henriques in Guimaraes. They have been demonstrating superb on-field performance, especially at home, winning five out of their last six games across all competitions. Their only loss was a narrow 2:1 defeat to Porto, a game in which Vitoria even missed a penalty. In these six home games, Vitoria Guimaraes’ offensive performance has been nothing short of phenomenal, with a total of 17 goals scored (an average of 2.83 per game). Therefore, when playing at home against a lower-ranked team, we anticipate that they will maintain their dominant offensive form.

Penafiel managed to secure seven points from their last three games, although their statistics suggest they were extremely fortunate to do so. Interestingly, six of these seven points were earned at home. Away from their home ground, Penafiel’s performance during the season has been consistently poor, making them the worst away team in Liga Portugal 2. Out of ten away games this season, they only managed a single victory, which came after a penalty shootout against Valadares Gaia, one of the least successful teams in Campeonato de Portugal (Group B). Their recent performance isn’t encouraging either &— they’ve secured just one point and scored a solitary goal in their last five away games.

Vitoria Guimaraes is significantly superior in quality and considering Penafiel’s poor performance on the road, we predict that Vitoria will secure an easy victory, even if they choose to adjust their squad slightly.