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Vitoria de Guimaraes
Primeira Liga | Gameweek 7
Sep 25, 2021 at 6pm UK
Estadio D Afonso Henriques
Benfica

Guimaraes
1 - 3
Benfica

Duarte (78' pen.)
FT(HT: 0-2)
Yaremchuk (30', 41'), Mario (73')
Otamendi (83')

Preview: Vitoria de Guimaraes vs. Benfica - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Saturday's Primeira Liga clash between Vitoria de Guimaraes and Benfica, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Vitoria de Guimaraes will be looking to carry on the momentum from their midweek Taca de Portugal win when they welcome Benfica to the Estadio Dom Afonso Henriques on Saturday.

The visitors head into the game as the only side yet to drop points in the Primeira Liga this season, and will be seeking to keep the juggernaut rolling.


Match preview

Benfica's Gilberto celebrates scoring their second goal with teammates in August 2021© Reuters

Vitoria de Guimaraes failed to return to winning ways in the league last Saturday when they blew a two-goal lead to play out a 2-2 draw against Arouca.

After Ricardo Quaresma and Tiago Silva put Os Vimaranenses two goals up, they failed to protect their lead as substitutes Oday Dabagh and Pite scored in the final 15 minutes of the game to hand the Arouquenses a share of the spoils.

That was followed by a 2-0 victory away to second tier Covilha three days later when they locked horns in the Group A of the Taca da Liga.

In that encounter, French midfielder Nicolas Janvier put on a headline-grabbing performance as he struck twice inside the first 30 minutes to hand Pepa's men all three points.

Vitoria, who are unbeaten in each of their last six outings across all competitions, now face the stern test of going against a high-flying Benfica side who are unbeaten in the last 20 meetings between the sides since 2013.

A general shot of Marcus Edwards celebrating with teammates for Vitoria de Guimaraes in June 2020© Reuters

Benfica, on the other hand, maintained their 100% record in the division last Monday when they claimed a 3-1 win over Boavista at the Estadio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica.

In an end-to-end affair between the sides, Gustavo Sauer cancelled out Darwin Nunez's opener in the 32nd minute, but Julian Weigl restored Jorge Jesus's side's lead two minutes later before Nunez made sure of the result on the hour mark with his second goal of the game.

Prior to that, As Aguias played out an uneventful goalless draw against Ukrainian outfit Dynamo Kiev when they faced off in the Champions League Group E opener last Tuesday.

Benfica, who are seeking to unseat reigning champions Sporting Lisbon, have kicked off their title challenge on the front foot as they currently lead the way in the Primeira Liga table with a four-point cushion on second-placed Porto.

Vitoria de Guimaraes Primeira Liga form:
  • L
  • D
  • W
  • D
  • D
  • D

Vitoria de Guimaraes form (all competitions):
  • D
  • W
  • D
  • D
  • D
  • W

Benfica Primeira Liga form:
  • W
  • W
  • W
  • W
  • W
  • W

Benfica form (all competitions):
  • W
  • D
  • W
  • W
  • D
  • W


Team News

Benfica coach Jorge Jesus on September 14, 2021© Reuters

Vitoria de Guimaraes will take to the pitch without the services of Tomas Handel, who picked up an injury in the game against Arouca last Saturday.

Twenty-four-year-old Alfa Semedo continues to serve his suspension after picking up a straight red in the game against Belenenses two Sundays ago, while Croatian defender Toni Borevkovic is expected to return to the fold after serving his one-match suspension.

Meanwhile, Harris Seferovic has been unable to feature for As Aguias since sustaining an injury while on international duty with Switzerland, and is ruled out of this weekend's game.

Serbian midfielder Nemanja Radonjic is also out of contention after missing the game against Boavista last time out through a muscle injury he sustained against Dynamo Kiev in the Champions League.

Andre Almeida will also play no part in this game due to personal reasons, while we expect Nunez to lead the attack for the fourth game running after taking his goal tally to four with a brace last time out.

Vitoria de Guimaraes possible starting lineup:
Varela; Sacko, Mumin, Fernandes, Soares; Almeida, Handel, Andre; Rochinha, Estupinan, Quaresma

Benfica possible starting lineup:
Vlachodimos; Otamendi, Vertonghen, Morato; Lazaro, Mario, Weigl, Grimaldo; Pizzi, Yaremchuk, Nunez


SM words green background

We say: Vitoria de Guimaraes 0-2 Benfica

While Vitoria will be looking to move into the top half of the table, they face the uphill task of going against Benfica, who they have failed to taste victory against since 2013.

Given the gulf in quality between the two sides, we predict Jorge Jesus's side will comfortably claim all three points.



Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 3.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Under 3.5:data



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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 55.86%. A draw had a probability of 23% and a win for Vitoria de Guimaraes had a probability of 21.18%.

The most likely scoreline for a Benfica win was 0-1 with a probability of 10.6%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (9.86%) and 0-2 (9.62%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.87%), while for a Vitoria de Guimaraes win it was 1-0 (5.99%). The actual scoreline of 1-3 was predicted with a 6% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Benfica would win this match.


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Game History

How you voted: Guimaraes vs Benfica

Vitoria de Guimaraes
6.5%
Draw
12.9%
Benfica
80.6%
31
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Pacos de Ferreira head coach Pepa pictured in June 2020
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Sunday's Primeira Liga predictions including Vitoria de Guimaraes vs. Belenenses
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Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Sporting Lisbon1111003953433
2Porto119022882027
3Benfica108112872125
4Santa ClaraSanta Clara117041412221
5Braga116231911820
6Vitoria de GuimaraesGuimaraes115331211118
7FamalicaoFamalicao11452129317
8MoreirenseMoreirense115241514117
9Casa Pia113441014-413
10Rio AveRio Ave113351020-1012
11Gil Vicente112451419-510
12Estoril PraiaEstoril11245816-810
13AVS11245919-1010
14BoavistaBoavista11236715-89
15Estrela Amadora112361020-109
16Nacional10226615-98
17AroucaArouca11227619-138
18SC FarenseFarense11128518-135


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