Vitoria Guimaraes vs Celje prediction: EUROPE: Conference League – League phase betting tips on match 2024-10-01 14:30.
[p]Vitória Guimarães have a chequered history in European football, but after breezing through qualifying for the UEFA Conference League (UECL), they will be hopeful of making a splash in the competition this year. The Conquerors are regulars in the early stages of continental tournaments but had reached the league stage in just three of their last nine attempts until registering thumping wins over Floriana, Zürich and Zrinjski Mostar this summer (aggregate win: 17-0) [/p]
[p]But a slight worry for Rui Borges’ side is that they may have lost form at just the wrong time. A thumping 3-0 defeat to Porto earlier this month was followed by a 1-1 draw against Casa Pia at the weekend, meaning they are winless in two games for the first time since May. Supporters will be expecting a return to winning ways on home soil though, where Vitória have come out on top in five of their previous six UECL fixtures (L1), conceding only once in the process.[/p]
[p]That is not good news for opponents NK Celje, who are breaking new ground after reaching the group/league stage of a major European competition for the first time. The Slovenian champions, who first lost in UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League qualifying, did so by beating Armenian side Pyunik 4-2 on aggregate, despite losing the first leg 1-0.[/p]
[p]The Counts head to Portugal on the back of a surprising 3-2 defeat to Bravo at the weekend, ending a run of four successive victories. Supporters may be confident they can avoid back-to-back defeats though, given Albert Riera’s side won 1-0 when these two sides met at Estádio D. Afonso Henriques in UECL qualifying last year, eventually winning the two-legged tie on penalties.[/p]
[p]Players to watch: Experienced Vitória striker Nélson Oliveira is unbeaten across the last 13 games in which he has scored (W10, D3) while attempting to do the damage for Celje might be Aljoša Matko, who has seen six of his last eight goals serve as the first or last of the match.[/p]
[p]Hot stat: Seven of Celje’s last eight matches across all competitions have produced 3+ goals.[/p]
[p][i]Written by Matt Jones[/i][/p]