Benfica look to bounce back from their Primeira Liga opening-day loss to Famalicao when they welcome Casa Pia to Estadio da Luz on Saturday.
The gameweek two fixture brings two winless clubs from the league-opening matches face to face, with Roger Schmidt's troops keen to secure maximum points to avoid further falling behind Sporting Lisbon and Porto.
Match preview
© Imago
Benfica must be sick of the sight of Famalicao after another loss to last season's eighth-placed club.
Fama inflicted the last of the Eagles' four defeats in 2023-24 — a 2-0 loss in early May — and got the better of Schmidt's men in this season's corresponding fixture, with a concession in each half meaning Benfica have lost 50% of their last four matches across the culmination of last season and the commencement of 2024-25.
Having ended 10 points adrift of eventual champions Sporting and finishing eight points clear of Porto, a slow start opens up the threat of falling behind Ruben Amorim's side and having Porto close the gap and potentially outdo them this term.
While Schmidt's side have 33 matches to fix their false start, the Eagles need success against a local rival this weekend knowing they suffered defeats to their fellow contenders last season, which increases the need for success on Saturday.
Despite the disappointing start, the home support will demand a result this weekend, keen to extend an impressive sequence of victories on home soil with the Eagles chasing a 12th straight win on their turf.
© Imago
Only two clubs have prevented Schmidt's men from notching maximum points at Estadio da Luz since Porto beat Benfica 2-1 in April 2023 — Casa Pia in October 2023 and Farense six weeks later — and the away side will push for a similar outcome this weekend.
The Geese are heading into their third season since their 83-year top-flight absence ended in the 2022-23 season, and the Lisbon outfit have done commendably in years one and two.
Former head coach Filipe Martins guided Os Gansos to 10th place before Goncalo Santos aided the club in finishing ninth last term.
With Joao Pereira now in situ, Casapianos were beaten on home turf by Boavista last week, continuing the club's wretched sequence of results in front of their fans, where they could claim just three victories in 17 matches last season.
One of last term's five road draws came against local rivals Benfica, and a similar outcome this weekend will be admirable for the incumbent boss.
Team News
© Reuters
The status of Gianluca Prestianni, who was substituted early in Benfica's match against Famalicao, remains uncertain.
Angel Di Maria could start for the Eagles on Saturday after a commendable cameo at Fama last time out.
Without last season's leading goalscorer Rafa Silva (14 goals) and the league's assist leader (12), Schmidt hopes other squad members take on more responsibility.
Last season's top scorer for Casa Pia Clayton (eight goals) is no longer at the club, neither are second and third-highest goalscorers Felippe Cardoso (six) and Yuki Soma (five), leaving gaping match-winning holes in the Casapianos squad.
With no injury worries from last weekend, a repeat XI could feature at Benfica on Saturday.
Benfica possible starting lineup:
Trubin; Bah, Araujo, Morato, Carreras; Luis, Barreiro; Mario, Kokcu, Di Maria; Pavlidis
Casa Pia possible starting lineup:
Batista; Goulart, Fonte, Zolotic; Geraldes, Segovia, Mukendi, Lelo; Fonzalez, Pablo, Moreira
We say: Benfica 2-0 Casa Pia
Despite holding Benfica to a 1-1 draw last season, the Eagles are backed to notch a 12th straight league victory at Estadio da Luz against Casa Pia. Seven of those home matches have seen Schmidt's men keep clean sheets, and an eight could be imminent on Saturday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
