Estoril Praia will play host to Benfica on Saturday evening in a match that promises to be another difficult one for the encarnados. After snatching three points at the death against Vizela, Benfica will be hoping to avoid leaving it late again.
In what will be their third successive match away from home in all competitions, Jorge Jesus’ men will encounter an organized and confident opponent.
Bruno Pinheiro has done a fantastic job since joining the canarinhos last year. He led Estoril to the title of Liga Portugal 2, earning them promotion to the top tier of Portuguese Football. Despite this being a new experience for Pinheiro, with nine matches played in the league, Estoril occupies the fourth spot, with just one defeat.
Their consistency at home hasn’t been great, having won just one of four. Outside of the results themselves, goal scoring has been difficult for the hosts, averaging just one goal per match, while away from the Estádio Antonio Coimbra de Mota, they’re averaging two goals per match.
The only club better on their travels than Estoril is none other than their opponent on Saturday, Benfica.
Jorge Jesus’ squad enters the match off the back of a thrilling three-all draw in Guimarães. Although the final result isn’t appealing to Benfica fans when you consider they had a 1-3 lead, that match had a little bit of everything for the neutral fan.
Benfica’s won all five away league matches this season, and when they play in Estoril, they’ve not left with anything other than a win.
As you can see from their last five matches in all competitions, the current league leaders have conceded more goals than we’ve been accustomed to. Fortunately, in the league, Benfica has the second-best defensive record with just five goals conceded; therefore, Jorge Jesus and his technical staff will be looking to return to an air-tight defensive organization on Saturday.
Expect a match where Estoril will allow Benfica to possess the ball while hitting them on the counter-attack. The one area to keep a close eye on for the visitors will be the center of the park.
João Mário and Julian Weigl have played a big part in the squad this season, but both have already featured in quite a few matches. It was noticeable in Vizela and again in Guimarães that João Mário could be experiencing some fatigue, so which version of the Portuguese international will we see this time around?
This is a tough match to call. Benfica clearly has the advantage given their resources compared to the newly-promoted hosts, but with nothing to lose for Pinheiro and his men, anything can happen.
