Another international break is behind us, and Benfica now welcome Paços de Ferreira to the Estádio da Luz on Friday evening. The Taça de Portugal is always full of surprises, but the hosts will be looking to avoid a slipup here.

Starting with the visitors, life after Pepa hasn’t begun well.

Jorge Simão had big shoes to fill this season, and thus far, positive results have not been easy to come by for the pacenses.

In the league, Paços de Ferreira is currently 12th, with just two wins from 11 matches. Alarmingly, both came in August; 2-0 victory in the opening round against Famalicão, then 0-1 away to Portimonense in round four.

Their last ten matches in all competitions; three losses, one win, and six draws. If the results themselves aren’t bad enough, recent history against Benfica isn’t going to give them any confidence either.

We have to go back to 2015 to find Paços de Ferreira’s last win over the encarnados. Jorge Jesus was on the bench for the Lisbon outfit, while Paulo Fonseca managed the opposition. From the Benfica squad in that match, only Andre Almeida and Pizzi are still with the club.

Since then, Benfica has won 11 and a scoreless draw in the mix. If you want to make things even more daunting for the visitors, dating back to 2001, they’ve played 23 matches at the Estádio da Luz (old and new); they lost 21, drew one, and won one.

While the visitors come into this match off the back of a 0-2 defeat at home against Sporting before the international break, Benfica comes in having achieved their most exuberant result this season.

After thumping Braga at home 6-1, Jorge Jesus and his squad will have enjoyed some time off to recover some energy and some injuries.

A Taça de Portugal fixture is always a challenge, but the hosts will need to avoid looking ahead with a difficult away match in Barcelona on the horizon.

We’ve seen it repeatedly, the focus goes to the more important match, and then there’s a negative result. Let’s take care of business on Friday night first and then turn our attention to the Champions League.

Jorge Jesus will have a chance to give some minutes to those who feature less frequently. Seferovic will be a pleasant surprise in the squad, as the Swiss international finally returns from an injury. He not only gives the attack another option, but it also forces the likes of Darwin, Yaremchuk, and even Gonçalo Ramos to be on their toes as competition increases.

Despite the rotation, we should expect a Benfica that is fresh and up for this match. Most of those in the probable starting XI did not feature during the international break; therefore, the team’s fatigue or lack of cohesion shouldn’t be an excuse.

There is a stretch of important matches coming up, and this is a chance for some players to stand up and show that they are a valid option.

How do you feel about the match? Confident? Uncertain? Leave your thoughts and prediction in the comments below.