Gil Vicente begins their quest for a place in the Europa League when they visit the Skonto Stadium on Thursday to face Riga FC in the first leg of their third-round clash, with kickoff at 10 pm.
On July 24, Riga FC defeated Spartaks 2-1 in the second round of Latvian Virsliga. The game was held at home. Before that, they beat Ruzomberok 3-0 in the reverse leg and qualified for the next stage of the Conference League qualifiers, thanks to Hrvoje Babec and Mikael Soisalo’s goals.
After the match versus Spartaks, Riga FC has won five games in a row across all competitions, scoring 10 goals and conceding twice since their last defeat against Valmiera FC in the Latvian Cup round of 16 on July 10.
Gil Vicente secured a place in the Conference League qualification places after finishing fifth in the 2021-22 Primeira Liga. This is where they picked up 51 points from their 34 games to secure an impressive fifth-placed finish, three points above Vitoria de Guimaraes in the final Conference League qualification spot.
The Gilistas secured their top-flight return with a 2-0 win against Penafiel on July 13 before closing their pre-season preparations with a 1-1 draw against Tondela on July 22.
Gil Vicente vs. FC Riga Head to Head
Both sides have one game against each other, ending in a draw. Here is a look at their previous encounters:
Home
- Riga FC 1-1 Gil Vicente
- Gil Vicente 1-1 Tondela
- Gil Vicente 2-0 Penafiel
- Vitoria SC 5-0 Gil Vicente
Away
- Riga 3-2 FK Metta
- Riga 1-1 Gil Vicente
- MFK 1-2 Riga
- Riga 2-0 Spartaks
Gil Vicente Team News
Perkovic could name an unchanged side for Thursday’s clash with St. Gallen, meaning a back three of Gustavo Dulanto, Douglas Bergqvist, and Ngonda Muzinga looks set to start. The park’s center will be filled by new signing Babec alongside Raivis Jurkovskis and Yuri Vakulko.
FC Riga Team News
Meanwhile, Gil Vicente will be without Russian goalkeeper Stanislav Kritsyuk. He continues his long journey to full fitness after picking up a severe knee injury while in action for Zenit St. Petersburg last November. In January, the Brazilian forward Murilo de Souza sustained an Achilles tendon injury in the league game against Boavista.
Prediction and Odds
Latvia head into their home match against Portugal on a run of seven wins from their last nine games at home, and we see them claiming a vital first-leg victory over the visitors.
- Riga Win
- Goals Over 1.5
- No Score: First Half
