Matchday 18 in the Primeira Liga will kick off on Friday night when Benfica play host to a stuttering Famalicao at Estadio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica.
With this being the standalone fixture on Friday, the hosts will have the opportunity to move into the top two overnight with a victory, while three points for the visitors will take them up to eighth.
Match preview
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Benfica will enter this weekend's league fixtures feeling much better about themselves than they were a few weeks ago when they ended 2024 with a 1-0 defeat to Sporting Lisbon before returning in the New Year with a 2-1 loss to Braga at home.
The reason for their improved mood this week stems from their performances in the domestic cups over the last nine days, as they exacted their revenge on the same two teams, beating Braguistas 3-0 in the Taca da Liga semi-final before going on to overcome Os Leoes on penalties in the final.
After securing their first piece of silverware for the season, Bruno Lage's side delivered a stellar second-half performance, coming back from a goal down on Tuesday night to beat Farense 3-1 and book their place in the last 16 of the Taca de Portugal.
As Aguias will now be looking to bring the same type of form back to the league where they have experienced a dip lately, having only taken seven points from their last five games, which followed a run of 11 matches unbeaten.
However, the hosts will know that they cannot underestimate their upcoming opponents, having lost to them 2-0 in the reverse fixture on the opening day of this season back in August.
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Meanwhile, having been knocked out of the Taca de Portugal in the fourth round by Santa Clara, Famailicao were not in action in midweek and will be returning to the field for the first time since January 5.
Azuis e Brancos played out a 1-1 draw away to Casa Pia that day, a result that extended their current winless run in the top flight to seven matches and eight across all competitions dating back to the start of November.
Looking further back, Fama have now only won one of their last 14 league games (W1 D8 L5), which is a massive drop-off after bursting out the starting gate with three consecutive victories in their first three matches of the season.
However, the one positive for new boss Hugo Oliveira is that he has yet to taste defeat on the road since arriving at the club, drawing his first two away games, while the team has only lost twice in eight outings this season (W2 D4 L2).
Team News
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After helping Benfica secure the Taca da Liga title, Renato Sanches suffered yet another injury setback, sustaining a muscle injury that the club confirmed is likely to keep him sidelined for around two months.
This marks the Paris Saint-Germain loanee's third injury absence since arriving in Lisbon at the start of the season, and he has only featured in 11 matches for the Eagles across all competitions this term.
In addition to the Portuguese international, the hosts will also have to make do without the services of Gianluca Prestianni (thumb), Jan-Niklas Beste (illness) and Tiago Gouveia (knee).
For the visitors, Oscar Aranda has been in good form lately, scoring in three of his last five league games to take his tally for the season to seven across all competitions, and he will almost certainly lead the line this weekend.
Fama have just one injury absentee to contend with for this match in the form of shot-stopper Ivan Zlobin, who is dealing with a kidney problem, meaning Lazar Carevic will start between the sticks for a fourth consecutive game.
Benfica possible starting lineup:
Trubin; Bah, Araujo, Otamendi, Carreras; Barreiro, Aursnes; Akturkoglu, Kokcu; Di Maria; Pavlidis
Famalicao possible starting lineup:
Carevic; Pinheiro, Mihaj, De Haas, Soares; Van de Looi, Topic; Sorriso, Sa, Dias; Aranda
We say: Benfica 3-1 Famalicao
While Benfica have experienced a dip in their league form over the last month, their cup triumphs over the last two weeks would have given them a huge momentum boost, and we feel they will come out on top in this contest, against an opponent that is winless in their last seven top-flight matches.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Devesh Jaganath
