Fresh off a successful European outing, Benfica return to Primeira Liga action this weekend as they travel to Santa Clara for gameweek 22.
The Eagles secured a hard-fought 1-0 win at Monaco in midweek in the first leg of the Champions League knockout playoffs, while the hosts come into the match with more rest, having last played on Saturday.
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Benfica took an early advantage in their two-legged playoff tie thanks to a 48th-minute strike from Vangelis Pavlidis, extending their winning streak to four across all competitions.
Their impressive run also includes two triumphs in the Primeira Liga, having secured a 3-2 win on their visit to Estoril Amadora before edging out Moreirense by the same scoreline at home in their latest league outing.
These victories marked a strong response to their prior struggles in the top flight, where they had managed just one win in four matches, suffering three defeats along the way.
With this resurgence, Benfica have now accumulated 47 points from 15 wins, two draws and four losses, placing them second in the standings, four points behind league leaders Sporting Lisbon.
Aiming to maintain pressure at the summit, the Reds will be confident heading into this fixture, given their dominant record against Santa Clara, whom they have comfortably beaten in recent years, winning their last seven meetings with an aggregate score of 22-3.
However, the visitors have not been entirely convincing on their travels this season, dropping points in half of their 10 away matches, though their tally of 17 points still ranks them as the division's third-best travellers.
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Meanwhile, Santa Clara will fancy their chances of securing a first-ever home victory against Benfica, particularly given their strong form at Estadio Pina Manique this season.
The hosts have won seven of their 11 league matches at the ground, amassing 22 points from a possible 33, making them the fourth-best home side in the division, though the Azoreans only recently snapped a three-match winless home run, claiming a 2-1 victory over Casa Pia on February 1.
That triumph was followed by another 2-1 win away to AVS in their most recent outing, where Ricardinho's 55th-minute strike was followed by an own goal from Aderllan Santos, leaving the hosts with too much to do despite a late consolation from Gerson Rodrigues in stoppage time.
Before that, Santa had endured a rough patch, going three games without victory, including a frustrating home defeat against Estoril Praia sandwiched between two draws — first dropping points against relegation-threatened Farense before grinding out a 1-1 result at Porto.
Os Açorianos' recent revival has propelled them to fifth in the standings, having collected 38 points from 12 wins, two draws and seven defeats, leaving them five points adrift of the Conference League qualification spot.
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Team News
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Santa welcome back Brazilian striker Vinicius Lopes, who missed the trip to AVS due to suspension after accumulating one too many yellow cards.
The 25-year-old, who is the club's leading scorer in the league, could return to the starting lineup in a three-man attack alongside Ricardinho and Gabriel Silva, with the trio responsible for 16 of the team's 22 goals this season.
On the injury front, the hosts remain without Portuguese defender Pedro Pacheco, who continues his lengthy recovery from a knee injury sustained in August.
As for Benfica, Angel Di María, introduced as a substitute in the 67th minute against Monaco, saw his night cut short just 19 minutes later due to a fitness issue, making him doubtful for this fixture.
In addition, the visitors remain without Renato Sanches (thigh), Tiago Gouveia (shoulder), and both Alexander Bah and Manuel Jorge Silva, who are ruled out with cruciate ligament injuries.
Pavlidis, in red-hot form with eight goals in his last six matches across all competitions, is expected to spearhead Benfica's attack once again on Saturday.
Santa Clara possible starting lineup:
Batista; Lima, Rocha, Nunes; Soares, Araujo, Adriano, Calila; Ricardinho, Vinicius, Klismahn
Benfica possible starting lineup:
Trubin; Tomas Araujo, Antonio Silva, Otamendi, Carreras; Florentino Luis, Aursnes, Kokcu; Akturkoglu, Pavlidis, Schjelderup
We say: Santa Clara 2-3 Benfica
Both sides come into this encounter brimming with confidence after recent victories, but the away side hold the edge in terms of momentum, having strung together a longer winning run.
Santa Clara's strong home record makes them a formidable opponent, yet Benfica's dominance in this fixture suggests they will have the upper hand once again in what promises to be a high-scoring affair.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Adeyeye Oluwapelumi
