Riding a five-game winning streak in the league, the team from Guimarães is in fifth place in the competition, with 56 points, tied with fourth-place Sporting de Braga and two behind third-place FC Porto, being the first team of this trio to take the field on Saturday, but the 52-year-old coach preferred to emphasize that the team wants to "reach 59 points as quickly as possible".

"Our motivation is to win the three points, to look at what has brought us here, a focus, an ambition, a spirit, the mentality of being champions every day. That's what brought us to this point in the championship, proud of our performance. We cannot deviate from our path", he stressed, in the preview of the challenge scheduled for 3:30 pm on Saturday, in Guimarães.

Despite the "great desire" and the "good expectations" for Saturday afternoon, Álvaro Pacheco warned that the Algarve team will be uninhibited in Minho, with "a great ambition to win the three points", following the "quiet championship" that it is holding, for now, the 10th place, with 30 points.

"It is a team with a game profile that can cause us setbacks if we are not able to dominate the moment of the game. We don't want to be surprised. We have to be determined and focused", he warned.

Without any discomfort due to the absence due to punishment of Manu Silva, after seeing the fifth yellow card in the triumph of the previous round, over FC Porto (2--1), nor with the fact of having six players at risk of exclusion, the 'helmsman' praised the work of his pupils, namely that of Afonso Freitas, a possible substitute for Ricardo Mangas, a player who was injured against the 'blue and whites'.

"We have had very few injuries. This team plays with great intensity, aggressiveness, and ambition. It is normal for some unforeseen events to happen. If Mangas cannot play, I have Afonso, who, against FC Porto, came in very well. He has trained like never before since I arrived here. That opportunity arises now. He has the opportunity to help the team achieve what we want", he said.

The 52-year-old coach also confirmed that Bruno Varela will once again be the starter in the goal, having also said that both the Cape Verdean international, 29 years old, and Charles, a 30-year-old Brazilian goalkeeper, considered by the I League coaches to be the best of the competition in the month of March, will play until the end of the season.

In addition to Charles, Jota Silva was also awarded by the coaches, as the best forward and player of March, something that, for Álvaro Pacheco, reflects "a strong collective where individualities stand out".

Vitória de Guimarães, fifth classified in the Portuguese I League, with 56 points, hosts Farense, 10th, with 30, in a challenge scheduled for 3:30 pm on Saturday, at the Estádio D. Afonso Henriques, in Guimarães, with refereeing by David Rafael Silva, from the Porto association.