Unbeaten in each of their last six outings, Benfica welcome Vizela to the Estadio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica as round 26 of the Portuguese Primeira Liga gets underway on Friday.
Having won each of the last three meetings between the sides, Nelson Verissimo's side will head into the game full of confidence and will look to keep the juggernaut rolling heading into their continental commitment.
Match preview
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Benfica were forced to dig deep last Saturday when they came from behind to claim a hard-fought 2-1 victory against a resilient Portimonense side at the Estadio Municipal de Portimao.
Brazilian forward Wellington Junior put the hosts ahead in the 25th minute, but a goal from Alejandro Grimaldo on the stroke of half time and Goncalo Ramos's strike five minutes after the interval helped As Aguias turn the tie around.
Benfica have now won all but one of their last five league matches — with a 2-2 draw at Boavista on February 18 being the only exception — dating back to a 2-1 home loss against Gil Vicente on February 2.
This solid form has seen Verissimo's side strengthen their position in the upper echelons of the Primeira Liga table as they now sit four points behind second-placed Sporting Lisbon, who have picked up 61 points from 25 games.
With the second leg of their Champions League round-of-16 clash against Ajax on the horizon, victory on Friday could serve as a morale-booster after holding out for a 2-2 home draw in February's reverse fixture.
Benfica will feel confident of coming away with the desired results as they go up against an opposing side who they have defeated in each of the last three meetings between the teams since 2017, scoring seven goals and conceding once in that time.
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Vizela, on the other hand, now face the risk of dropping into the relegation places after a disappointing run of results since the start of February.
After closing out January with successive 3-2 victories over Tondela and Vitoria de Guimaraes respectively, the Vizelenses have failed to win any of their subsequent matches to date, losing three and claiming two draws.
Vizela head into Friday's game fresh off the back of a 3-1 defeat at the hands of a spirited Santa Clara side when the teams squared off at the Estadio de Sao Miguel last Sunday.
With 24 points from 25 games, Alvaro Pacheco's men are currently 14th in the league standings, eight points above rock-bottom Belenenses and three above Tondela in the relegation playoff spot.
Their poor campaign has been owing to their struggles in attack, where they have scored 27 goals, with their luck at the opposite end of the pitch not any better after conceding 43 goals and managing just two clean sheets so far.
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Team News
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Darwin Nunez, who currently sits at the top of the Primeira Liga top scorers table with 20 goals, was handed a four-minute cameo off the bench against Portimonense last time out but we expect the Uruguayan forward to come into the XI on Friday.
On the injury front, Verissimo will be unable to call upon the services of Haris Seferovic, who has three goals and two assists under his belt in the league, after the Swiss forward picked up a leg problem back in January.
Portuguese defender Andre Almeida is also out of contention for As Aguias after coming off injured in February's game against Gil Vicente.
Benfica will once again make go with the absence of the Brazilian duo of Rodrigo Pinho and Lucas Verissimo, who are recuperating from muscle and knee injuries respectively.
Similarly, Vizela have a few injury concerns to contend with as Portuguese defender Ivanildo Fernandes continues his spell on the sidelines after picking up a groin problem back in November.
Twenty-seven-year-old midfielder Raphael Guzzo will also play no part in Friday's game after picking up an injury in the game against Boavista on February 27.
Benfica possible starting lineup:
Vlachodimos; Gilberto, Otamendi, Vertonghen, Grimaldo; Everton, Weigl, Bernardo, Silva; Yaremchuk, Nunez
Vizela possible starting lineup:
Silva; Juliao, Anderson, Aidara, Ofori; Claudemir, Samu, Mendez; Cassiano, Bondoso, Moreira
We say: Benfica 2-0 Vizela
With their highly-anticipated Champions League clash against Ajax around the corner, a victory here would undoubtedly help set the time for Benfica. They head into the game in fine form, claiming four wins and one draw from five games and, as opposed to the visitors, who are without a win in five straight outings. We are backing Benfica to come away with all three points and close the gap on second-placed Sporting Lisbon.
Top tip
Joshua Ojele
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Benfica win with a probability of 76.5%. A draw had a probability of 14.8% and a win for Vizela had a probability of 8.66%.
The most likely scoreline for a Benfica win was 2-0 with a probability of 12.03%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 3-0 (10.25%) and 1-0 (9.42%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (7.02%), while for a Vizela win it was 0-1 (2.75%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with a 7% likelihood.
