Still licking their wounds from their midweek Champions League defeat to Inter Milan, Benfica take on Chaves in round 28 of the Portuguese Primeira Liga on Saturday.

Vitor Campelos's men, meanwhile, head into the weekend looking to taste victory for the first time since the start of April and move into the top half of the league standings.

Match preview

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Chaves failed to make it two back-to-back away wins for the first time since the turn of the year as they played out a goalless draw with Gil Vicente on Monday.

Both sides had promising opportunities at the Estadio Cidade de Barcelos but were guilty of a lack of sting at the attacking end of the pitch as they failed to make their chances count.

Prior to that, the Flavienses were denied a third consecutive win on April 2, when Iuri Medeiros and Abel Ruiz scored either side of Juninho Vieira's 42nd-minute to hand Braga a deserved win.

Chaves return to the Estadio Municipal Eng. Manuel Branco Teixeira, where they have lost three of their last four matches, with a 2-0 win over Portimonense on March 11 being the exception.

Campelos's men have now picked up 33 points from 27 games to sit 11th in the Primeira Liga table, level on points with 12th-placed Boavista, but a win could potentially see them move level on points with ninth-placed Famalicao.

However, Saturday's game pits Chaves against an opposing side who are unbeaten in each of their last seven meetings, claiming six wins and one draw since September 2016.

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Elsewhere, Benfica's dreams of a first Champions League semi-final appearance since 1990 suffered a huge blow as they were beaten 2-0 by Inter Milan in the first leg of their quarter-final clash on Tuesday.

Following an uneventful first 45 minutes at the Estadio da Luz, the game sparked into life in the second half, with Nicolo Barella handing the Italians a 51st-minute lead before Romelu Lukaku made sure of the result with a late penalty.

This was a second consecutive loss for Benfica, both of which have come on their home turf, following last Friday's 2-1 defeat at the hands of domestic rivals Porto in their most recent Primeira Liga outing.

Roger Schmidt's side were previously on an eight-game winning streak across all competitions and had won each of their last 10 league matches since January's 2-2 draw against Sporting Lisbon.

Despite last week's O Classico defeat, Benfica sit at the top of the Primeira Liga table with a seven-point cushion over second-placed Porto, having picked up 71 points from 27 matches.

Benfica will head into the weekend in search of a morale-boosting result as they prepare for next week's journey to San Siro, where they will be looking to make a remarkable Champions League comeback.

Team News

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Chaves will take to the pitch without the midfield duo of Nwankwo Obiora and Jonathan Arriba, who have been sidelined through muscle injuries.

Former Atletico Madrid forward Hector Hernandez came off injured in February's game against Rio Ave and the 27-year-old is set to sit out his sixth consecutive game.

Another name on the hosts' injury table is Portuguese youngster Eduardo Borges, who is yet to feature this year after picking up an injury against Casa Pia in November.

On the other hand, experienced defender Mihailo Ristic suffered a muscle injury in January's game against Arouca and the 27-year-old is out of contention for Benfica.

Former Paris Saint-Germain forward Julian Draxler is currently recuperating from an ankle injury and will also play no part in this weekend's match.

Alexander Bah was forced off injured inside the opening 26 minutes against Porto on April 7 and the Dane is set to sit out his second consecutive game.

With the second leg of the Champions League quarter-finals on the horizon, Schmidt could shuffle his side on Saturday, with the likes of Gilberto, Petar Musa and David Neres pushing for starting roles.

Chaves possible starting lineup:
Fagundes; Monte, Vitoria, Ponck, Langa; Teixeira, Mendes, Guimaraes; Benny, Juninho, Euller

Benfica possible starting lineup:
Vlachodimos; Gilberto, Silva, Otamendi, Grimaldo; Luis, Chiquinho, Mario; Silva, Neres, Musa

We say: Chaves 0-2 Benfica

Benfica will set out to restore some pride following their disappointing defeat against Inter Milan. Schmidt's men are currently on a fine run against Chaves, and given the gulf in quality between the two sides, we are backing them to see off the Flavienses.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

Written by
Joshua Ojele

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