In their first home game of the 2022-23 Primeira Liga campaign, Casa Pia welcome Benfica to the Estadio Dr. Magalhaes Pessoa on Saturday.
As Aguias head into the weekend fresh off the back of progressing to the fourth round of the Champions League qualifiers and will look to keep the juggernaut rolling.
Match preview
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Manager Filipe Martins will be disappointed not to have claimed all three points last weekend as his Casa Pia side were held to an uneventful goalless draw by Santa Clara at the Estadio de Sao Miguel.
In a game where Ricardinho received his marching orders, Leonardo Lelo failed to convert his 10th-minute penalty and this would come back to haunt the newly-promoted side as they failed to mount any serious threat from thereon before settling for a share of the spoils.
This followed a brief pre-season campaign where they fell to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of English side Sheffield United on July 7 before claiming a 1-0 win over Mafra 12 days later.
Casa Pia head into the weekend on a run of three competitive games without defeat after picking up two wins from their final two outings in the 2021-22 Segunda Liga campaign, where they finished second in the table.
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Elsewhere, Benfica marched on in their hunt for a place in the Champions League as they claimed a comfortable 3-1 victory away to FC Midtjylland in the second leg of the third qualifying round last Tuesday.
After trailing 2-0 courtesy of goals from Enzo Fernandez and Enrique Araujo, Pione Sisto pulled one back for the home side three minutes after the hour mark, but substitute Diogo Goncalves netted with two minutes left to play to restore the two-goal advantage.
This followed a 4-1 victory over the Danish outfit in the first leg on August 2, when 21-year-old forward Goncalo Ramos turned in a performance of the highest quality as he netted a hat-trick to hand As Aguias a resounding win.
Benfica now turn their attention to the Primeira Liga where they kicked off their 2022-23 campaign with a 4-0 thumping of Arouca last weekend, with goals coming from Fernandez, Gilberto, and a brace from Rafa Silva.
Roger Schmidt's men, who finished third in the league last term, head into the weekend on a blistering nine-game winning streak across all competitions, scoring a staggering 30 goals since July's 1-0 loss against Porto.
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Team News
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Off the back of a solid defensive performance at Santa Clara last weekend, Martins could name an unchanged three-man defence of Nermin Zolotic, Vasco Fernandes and Joao Nunes, with 35-year-old Ricardo Batista between the sticks.
Afonso Tiara and Brazil international Neto should pair up at the centre of the park once again, while former Moreirense forward Rafael Martins should lead the attack alongside 25-year-old Saviour Godwin.
As for Benfica, Schmidt will still be unable to call upon the services of Brazilian defender Lucas Verissimo, who continues his long journey to full fitness after sustaining a severe knee injury last November.
With his strike against Midtjylland last time out, Argentine starlet Fernandez has now scored in each of As Aguias' three games this season and the 21-year-old will certainly be one to keep an eye on.
Goncalves came off the bench to good effect against the Danish outfit and the 25-year-old, who made 23 appearances last season, could be rewarded with a place in the starting side this weekend.
Casa Pia possible starting lineup:
Batista; Zolotic, Fernandes, Nunes; Soares, Neto, Tair, Lelo; Kunimoto, Martins, Godwin
Benfica possible starting lineup:
Vlachodimos; Gilberto, Otamendi, Morato, Grimaldo; Fernandez, Luis; Neres, Mario, Silva; Ramos
We say: Casa Pia 0-2 Benfica
While Casa Pia will be seeking their first win of the season, standing in their way is a rampant Benfica side who have won each of their last nine games across all competitions. Considering the gulf in quality and experience between the sides, we are backing the visitors to come away with a comfortable victory.
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Top tip
Joshua Ojele
