SM
Man United vs. Chelsea: 20 hrs 2 mins
Collect News Data
P
Primeira Liga | Gameweek 28
Apr 22, 2021 at 7pm UK
Estadio Municipal
B
Portimonense
1 - 5
Benfica
Beto (43')
Poha (72')
FT(HT: 1-1)
Pizzi (45+2'), Nunez (50'), Seferovic (64', 73'), Everton (90+4')
Gabriel (6'), Otamendi (78')

Preview: Portimonense vs. Benfica - prediction, team news, lineups

:Headline: Preview: Portimonense vs. Benfica - prediction, team news, lineups:
Sports Mole previews Thursday's Primeira Liga clash between Portimonense and Benfica, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Sports Mole

Benfica will be looking to bounce back from a surprise defeat in their most recent match when they make the trip to Portimonense on Thursday evening.

The Eagles went down 2-1 to bottom-half side Gil Vicente at the weekend, while Portimonense continued their good form with victory at Famalicao.


Match preview

Benfica had strung together a remarkable six-match winning run in the Primeira Liga without conceding ahead of Saturday's home match with Gil Vicente.

In all competitions, meanwhile, it was seven wins-to-nil on the bounce, making their loss against Ricardo Soares's side all the more incredible.

If the Eagles' title hopes were not already over, they certainly are now given the 12-point margin that they have to make up on leaders Sporting Lisbon.

Jorge Jesus's men were also eliminated from the Europa League by Arsenal at the last-32 stage, so they are focusing solely on the league until their Portuguese Cup final clash with Sporting Braga on May 23.

The top two sides in the Portuguese top flight are guaranteed a place in next season's Champions League group stage, but Benfica also have a six-point deficit to make up on second-placed Porto.

Benfica are now aiming to avoid successive league losses for the first time since April 2018 when they travel to Estadio Municipal de Portimao on Thursday.

The hosts enter the match on a three-game winning run, the last two of those without conceding, and are exactly midway in the standings.

Beto's goal late in the first half proved enough to see off Famalicao last time out, and Paulo Sergio's charges could win four on the bounce in the Portuguese top flight for the first time ever.

Sixth place is enough for a European spot this season, so Portimonense do still have something to aim for in their remaining five games.

However, with Vitoria Guimaraes six points better off, Portimonense could ideally do with picking up a surprise result in midweek.

Portimonense Primeira Liga form:
  • W
  • L
  • L
  • W
  • W
  • W

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

Team News

Benfica were without Andre Almeida and Andreas Samaris for the defeat to Gil Vicente and have no known fresh injury concerns for this match.

Jesus may look to tweak things following that rare setback, with the likes of Everton Soares, Darwin Nunez, Pizzi, Franco Cervi and Pedrinho pushing for inclusion.

Strike pair Haris Seferovic and Gian-Luca Waldschmidt have 23 goals between them in the league this term and should get the nod up top once again.

As for the home team, they lost Willyan early on in the win at Famalicao, so Pedro Sa is in line for a 10th start of the campaign.

Lucas Fernandes is Portimonense's only other known injury and suspension concern, having also sat out that most recent match.

Beto will again lead the line after scoring at the weekend, but the attacking positions around him are all up for grabs.

Portimonense possible starting lineup:
Samuel; Moufi, Possignolo, Antonio, Cande; Luquinhas, Sa, Dener; Morte, Beto, Fabricio

Benfica possible starting lineup:
Leite; Goncalves, Verissimo, Otamendi, Grimaldo; Rafa, Taarabt, Weigl, Everton; Waldschmidt, Seferovic


We say: Portimonense 1-3 Benfica

These sides have won 11 of their last 14 games between them, though it is Portimonense who have the better record over the past month after Benfica slipped up at the weekend.

The visitors do not lose back-to-back games all that often, however, and we expect their quality to tell in this contest at Estadio Municipal de Portimao.



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



body check tags ::

Previews by email

Click here to get Sports Mole's daily email of previews and predictions for every major game!


amp_article__444052 : Collect and Make Data not in DataBase  : 
last updated article - 2021-04-20 19:37:45:
html db last update - 2021-04-20 16:27:27 :

ex - 7200 : read : write cache and make html
Game History
Read more!
Share this article now:

Subscribe to our newsletter


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!
Recommended Next on SM
Read more!
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Benfica33273379205984
2Porto33264370224882
3Braga33243672304275
4Sporting Lisbon33225669313871
5Vitoria de GuimaraesGuimaraes33165123436-253
6AroucaArouca33149103437-351
7ChavesChaves331210113436-246
8FamalicaoFamalicao33134163745-843
9Casa Pia33118143139-841
10BoavistaBoavista33118143953-1441
11Vizela33117153336-340
12Rio AveRio Ave33109143441-739
13PortimonensePortimonense33104192546-2134
14Gil Vicente3397173141-1034
15Estoril PraiaEstoril3395193048-1832
16Maritimo3375213160-2926
17Pacos de FerreiraPacos de Ferreira3365222659-3323
18Santa ClaraSanta Clara3357212655-2922
Scroll for more - Tap for full version

Subscribe to our newsletter


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.



. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .