Fresh off consecutive Primeira Liga victories, Benfica seek success against Gil Vicente in Saturday's gameweek seven clash at Estadio da Luz.
The Eagles have regained decent-to-good form since Bruno Lage returned to the Stadium of Light at Roger Schmidt's expense, and they seek a third straight league triumph against a side that have played out the most stalemates (four) in the competition after six rounds.
Match preview
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After an indifferent start to the new season under Schmidt, Benfica made a change in the dugout with Lage returning to the club where he notched league success in 2019, aiming to get As Aguias back on track for top-flight contention.
That decision has hitherto led to admirable results in all competitions, with the 48-year-old claiming three victories after wins over in-form Santa Clara (4-1), Red Star Belgrade in the Champions League (2-1) and Boavista (3-0) last weekend.
The recent triumph in round six probably pleased Lage more than previous wins, as the Eagles kept their first clean sheet under his management to record back-to-back victories in the 2024-25 season for the second time following successes against Casa Pia (3-0) and Estrela (1-0).
Benfica head into Saturday keen to at least keep pace with Porto, whom they trail by two points, and unblemished Sporting Lisbon, who rank five ahead of the 38-time Liga champions.
Having secured a staggering 14 consecutive wins on the trot in front of their supporters, the minimum expectation for Lage's men will be securing maximum points when Gil Vicente visit.
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However, the Eagles will be wary of a side that have been hard to beat through an undefeated run of five games since losing at Porto (3-0) in gameweek one.
Nevertheless, turning draws into maximum points has been an early-season challenge for Bruno Pinheiro, whose team have drawn four of the five matches during their unbeaten sequence, notching their only success against new boys AVS (4-2) in gameweek two.
No side in the top half have fewer wins than Galos (one) who could lose their place in the league's top nine in the embryonic standings this weekend — Casa Pia, Rio Ave and AVS are level on seven points, while Estoril and Arouca have six.
Given Pinheiro's winless record against Benfica — one draw, three losses — and the Eagles' incredible 14-match winning run on home soil, the travelling fans visit Lisbon in hope rather than any real expectation.
Team News
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Although Alexander Bah is touch-and-go for Sunday, Tiago Gouveia and Renato Sanches are not anticipated to play any part for Lage's men.
The Eagles have had different goalscorers since the managerial change, with Kerem Akturkoglu, Florentino Luis, Antonio Silva, Angel Di Maria, Vangelis Pavlidis, Orkun Kokcu and Arthur Cabral all finding the net to showcase the club's widespread menace.
Facundo Caseres is not anticipated to feature for the away side due to a knee injury, likewise, Sphephelo Sithole, who is sidelined for Galos; Mory Gbane (thigh) will be assessed in the lead-up to the match and a place on the bench is possible.
Only Kanya Fujimoto (four goals) has netted more than once for the away side this term, and he aims to add to that tally against a side that give little away on home turf.
Benfica possible starting lineup:
Trubin; Araujo, Silva, Otamendi, Carreras; Luis, Aursnes; Di Maria, Kokcu, Akturkoglu; Pavlidis
Gil Vicente possible starting lineup:
Andrew; Carlos, Buatu, Fernandes, Cruz; Fujimoto, Castillo, Garcia; Correira, Aguirre, Mboula
We say: Benfica 3-1 Gil Vicente
Although Gil Vicente have avoided losing in five matches, that sequence is likely to end against Benfica, who seek a 15th straight league win at the Stadium of Light and fifth consecutive success in this fixture.
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