Analysis: What Brentford can expect from Gil Vicente test | OneFootball

Aaron Barton, Portuguese football writer and data editor for Opta, has explained what Brentford should expect when they face Gil Vicente on Friday evening (7.30pm kick-off BST).

The Bees travel to Estádio Cidade de Barcelos for their first pre-season friendly ahead of the 2025/26 Premier League campaign.

Gil Vicente have been back in the Primeira Liga for six seasons now and finished 13th in 2024/25. How would you sum up their most recent campaign?

Their campaign certainly was not anything to write home about. The Barcelos-based outfit managed just eight league victories all season, which was their fewest in a top-flight season since 2014/15 (four wins), as they finished just seven points above the bottom three.

They never expect to be able to consistently go toe-to-toe with the clubs with more financial muscle but, in the season just gone, they dropped far too many points to teams around them and below them in the table.

In 2021/22, they finished fifth, their joint-highest position in history, but since then, they’ve not moved above 12th. Why do you think that is?

They had a fantastic season in 2021/22, but with a season like that also comes repercussions.

It is difficult for a club like Gil Vicente to keep hold of their best talent so, naturally, when a bigger club comes knocking, departures are inevitable, but it is this model that will keep the club running.

In the space of two summer windows, they lost Samuel Lino to Atlético Madrid, Fran Navarro to Porto, and both Adrián Marin and Vitor Carvalho to Sporting Braga.

All four players excelled at the club and were sold shortly afterwards.

The headline departure this summer is that of Félix Correia, who has joined Lille, but what have you made of their business so far, on the whole?

It will be another thrifty window for the club, where they will bring in young, low-cost players on permanent deals and possibly secure some loans from the bigger clubs.

They have also lost Kanya Fujimoto to Birmingham, who has been an incredible servant to Gil Vicente over the last three years.

He is a player with real quality and that will be a big blow for them.

Which player should Brentford fans be keeping an eye on, on Friday night?

It is hard to say how he will fare this season as he makes the step up, but Gil Vicente have brought in forward Gustavo Varela on loan from Benfica.

He is just 20 years old, but played for Benfica B last season in Liga Portugal 2 and managed to score 11 goals. He looked bright in the UEFA Youth League for Benfica’s Under-19s side, too, netting four goals in three games.

The Primeira Liga is a big step up from the second tier, but he will be hoping to make an impact this season before returning to his parent club.

What should Brentford expect from César Peixoto’s side, in terms of shape and style?

Peixoto has more often than not gone with a 4-2-3-1 formation since arriving at the club in March, and has used it in eight of his 11 Primeira Liga matches to date.

They will try and move the ball carefully and patiently. In fact, from when Peixoto was appointed in March until the end of last season, Gil Vicente had the slowest direct speed of any Primeira Liga club, and only Sporting CP, Porto, Braga and Benfica averaged longer average sequence time than them.

It is easier said than done to keep hold of the ball when playing against a side as talented as Brentford, however, who will present a huge step up for Gil Vicente compared to the vast majority of Primeira Liga outfits.

What’s your score prediction?

I will say 3-1 to Brentford.