On Saturday, Benfica travels south for matchday 25 to take on Portimonense at the Estádio Municipal de Portimão.
With kickoff scheduled for 18H, Nélson Veríssimo’s side will have the chance to put pressure on their same city rivals, who are currently four points ahead. To do that, the encarnados will have to do their part and come away with three points.
In Portimão, Benfica will encounter a side that hasn’t won a league match since December, after they defeated Moreirense 0-1 on matchday 14.
Since then, the Algarvios have managed six draws and four losses in the league. Of those ten matches, Paulo Sérgio’s men did not keep cleansheet. On the other side of that stat, Portimonense also only didn’t score in one of those matches, a 1-0 defeat in Barcelos against Gil Vicente.
When these two sides met earlier this season, Portimonense managed to take all three points from the Estádio da Luz. It was a match where Benfica had a number of clear goalscoring chances in the first half, but somehow, they managed to hit everything but the back of the net.
Lucas Possignolo’s loan goal in the second half was enough for the visitors to achieve an unexpected result, but Benfica will be looking to avoid that again this time around.
A win on Sunday against Vitória SC could give the encarnados a boost of confidence, not only because they cut the gap to second place, but also because they managed their first cleansheet in their last seven matches in all competitions. In fairness, they can thank Odysseas for that as once again, the Greek international came up with crucial saves, especially early in the match.
Going through a phase where there are no mid-week games, Benfica should build some momentum. They travel to Portimão on Saturday, next weekend they host Vizela, and then that much-anticipated visit to Amsterdam.
Weigl and Otamendi are available for this match, having served a one-match ban due to yellow cards. Both should likely walk back into the starting XI, but are there any other uncertainties across the field?
I’d imagine the most significant question from last Sunday’s XI will be Taarabt or João Mário. Considering the Morrocan’s most recent appearances, I think he’s made a case for himself. Meanwhile, even before his absence due to COVID, the Portuguese international had shown a decline in performance. With that, I think it would be cruel to remove Taarabt for a João Mário who is still looking to gain fitness.
Revenge – that could be a good word to describe this match. After an unjust defeat at home, Benfica has the opportunity to take advantage of the league’s worst home team.
From their 12 league matches at the Estádio Municipal de Portimão, Paulo Sérgio’s side has managed only two wins, four draws, and six defeats.
As for Benfica, they are the second-best team away from home in the league. From 12 away from the Estádio da Luz, they’ve come away with ten wins, two draws, and one defeat.
Will we take all three points back to Lisbon and pressure Sporting, who takes the field later in the day?
