Two of Vitoria’s regular starters are set to miss their clash with Arsenal on Thursday through injury, according to reports in Portugal.

Record (via Sport Witness) report that Valeriy Bondarenko is set to miss out on the trip after breaking his finger, whilst Lucas Evangelista has a thigh injury.

The pair had both made seven appearances already this season, and attacking-midfielder Evangelista had started both of the club’s Europa League games, whilst centre-back Bondarenko had started one of two.

It’s a blow to lose both of them ahead of the trip to North London, and it’s really a case of kicking Vitoria while they’re down.

Despite playing well against Standard Liege, the Portuguese side lost 2-0. They then suffered another defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt, leaving them on zero points after two games. To make matters worse, Vitoria were knocked out of the Portuguese Cup by a fourth division side over the weekend.

In poor domestic and European form with players missing through injury, Vitoria must be fearing the worst with a trip to the group leaders Arsenal.

Fortunately for them, Unai Emery’s side tend to be at their most generous when faced with a team desperately needing a win.