Croatia
Indonesia
Nigeria
South Africa

Benficavs.Guimaraes

sportsmole.co.uk, 5 December 2024, 23:59
Seeking to pick up a 10th consecutive Primeira Liga victory, Benfica go head to head with Vitoria de Guimaraes at the Estadio da Luz on Saturday.

The objective for Os Vimaranenses will be to snap their run of 20 consecutive games without a win against the home side and pick up their first victory in five away matches since late October.

Match preview

Benfica continue to chase down rivals Sporting Lisbon at the top of the Primeira Liga standings as they picked up a comfortable 2-0 victory over Arouca when the two sides met last Sunday.

In an action-packed contest at the Estadio Municipal de Arouca, Spanish defender Jose Fontan netted a 12th-minute own goal to set the visitors on their way before Angel Di Maria converted his 71st-minute penalty to make sure of the result.

Since a 1-0 loss against Bayern Munich in the Champions League on November 6, Benfica have now won four straight matches across all competitions, including a 7-0 hammering of Estrela Amadora in the Taca de Portugal fourth round on November 23.

With Sunday's result, As Aguiashave now won seven back-to-back Primeira Liga matches and are unbeaten in their last nine games in the league, clocking up nine wins and one draw since a 2-0 defeat against Famalicao in the season opener on August 11.

With 28 points from 11 matches, Bruno Lage's side are currently third in the Primeira Liga standings, two points behind second-placed Porto and five adrift of league leaders Sporting Lisbon,

Vitoria de Guimaraes, on the other hand, turned in a fine show of class at the attacking end of the pitch last weekend when they thumped Gil Vicente 4-0 at the Estadio Dom Afonso Henriques.

In a one-sided contest, Jesus Ramirez, Manuel Silva and Nelson Oliveira all found the back of the net for the hosts, with Sandro Cruz netting a second-half own goal for Gil Vicente to sum up their outing.

Before that, Vitoria de Guimaraes fought back from behind to snatch a late 1-1 draw against Croatian outfit Astana in the Conference, where they are one of just six unbeaten sides this season and sit fifth in the table.

Rui Borges's men have now won exactly half of their 12 Primeira a Liga matches so far while losing three and claiming three draws to collect 21 points and sit sixth in the table, but could move into fourth -place with all three points this weekend.

However, Guimaraes will need to see off the challenge of an opposing side whom they have failed to get the better of in any of their last 20 meetings, losing 15 and claiming five draws since November 2008.

Benfica Primeira Liga form:

W

W

W

W

W

W

Benfica form (all competitions):

W

L

W

W

W

W

Vitoria de Guimaraes Primeira Liga form:

D

D

D

W

L

W

Vitoria de Guimaraes form (all competitions):

W

W

L

W

D

W

Team News

Benfica will have to cope without the services of midfielder Orkun Kokcu, who is currently suspended after crossing the yellow card threshold with his booking against Aroica.

On the injury front, Benfica remain without the services of Portuguese forward Renato Sanchez, who has missed each of the last three games through a muscle problem.

He is joined on As Aguias' injury table by 23-year-old forward Tiago Gouveia, who has been sidelined since coming off with a shoulder injury in the 1-0 victory over Estrela Amadora back in August.

As for Guimaraes, Toni Borevkovic was forced off injured late in the game against Gil Vicente last time out and the Croatian defender is a doubt for this weekend's matchup.

Should he fail to shake off the injury, former Porto man Jorge Fernandes should come into the fold, forming the back four with Bruno Gaspar, Oscar Rivas and Joao Mendes.

Benfica possible starting lineup:

Trubin; Araujo, Bah, Otamendi, Carreras; Aursnes, Luis; Di Maria, Rollheiser, Akturkoglu; Pavlidis

Vitoria de Guimaraes possible starting lineup:

Varela; Gaspar, Rivas, Fernandes, Mendes; J Silva, Handel; Cesar, Samu, Santos; Ramirez

We say: Benfica 3-1 Vitoria de Guimaraes

Benfica are currently firing on all cylinders and will be backing themselves against a Guimaraes side who have failed to win any of their last 20 encounters in over 16 years.

While Borges's men will look to continue from where they dropped off against Gil Vicente last time out, they are without a win in their most recent four away matches and we see them struggling at the Estadio da Luz once again.

Written by

Joshua Ojele

Previews by email

Top News

23 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Yemen and Saudi Arabia will celebrate Christmas Day by facing each other on matchday two of the Arabian Gulf Cup on Wednesday at Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium in Kuwait City. 23 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk First place in Group B of the Arabian Gulf Cup will be at stake on Wednesday as Bahrain and Iraq celebrate Christmas Day at Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium in Kuwait. 23 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United transfer target Randal Kolo Muani is very likely to leave Paris Saint-Germain in the January transfer window, according to reports. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester City have reportedly set their sights on West Ham United attacker Mohammed Kudus, with Pep Guardiola keen to strengthen his struggling squad. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United are reportedly set to rival Arsenal for the signature of Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic in the summer of 2025. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk The final Premier League gameweek before Christmas appropriately served up some crackers, including a festive feast of goals in North London, where Liverpool ran riot in an exhilarating 6-3 win over Tottenham Hotspur. 22 December 2024 talksport.com Even when the pulse settled a little after this compellingspectacle it was still difficult to know quite where to start todissect this nine-goal thriller. 22 December 2024 talksport.com Ange Postecoglou cut an irritated figure as he claimed he's going to stop answering questions about Tottenham's tactics. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Tottenham Hotspur have supposedly expressed an interest in signing Borussia Dortmund attacker Julian Brandt next month. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool's Mohamed Salah refused to give anything away when asked whether he could break Ian Rush's all-time goalscoring record after the Reds' remarkable 6-3 win over Tottenham Hotspur. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool's astonishing 6-3 Premier League win over Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday evening saw a multitude of records and achievements surpassed, as the Reds moved four points clear at the top of the table. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Al-Ahli have reportedly emerged as the favourites to sign Marcus Rashford, with the Manchester United attacker widely expected to be on the move during the January transfer window. 22 December 2024 talksport.com Everton have become surprise leaders in one statistic across Europe thanks to their draw at home to Chelsea. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool will spend Christmas Day four points clear at the top of the Premier League table thanks to a breathtaking 6-3 win over Tottenham Hotspur in North London. 22 December 2024 talksport.com Kylian Mbappe struck a landmark effort to put himself firmly among Real Madrid's elite. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has insisted that he is "absolutely happy" with his side's goalless draw at Everton on Sunday. 22 December 2024 talksport.com If you thought Mohamed Salah couldn't set yet another record, think again. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk For a second time in successive Gulf Cup competitions, The United Arab Emirates and Kuwait will meet in the group stage, with this upcoming game taking place on Tuesday at Jaber Al-Amad International Stadium in Kuwait City. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Bayer Leverkusen defender Jeremie Frimpong is supposedly not a 'concrete target' for Liverpool amid speculation over Trent Alexander-Arnold's future. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Real Madrid moved into second spot in the La Liga table courtesy of a 4-2 success over Sevilla in Sunday afternoon's contest at Bernabeu, with Los Blancos ending 2024 on a high note. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Oman and Qatar will compete in the Gulf Cup for the first time in over a decade on Tuesday at Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium, each seeking their first victory in this edition of the tournament. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona have reportedly received offers from three clubs for defender Eric Garcia, but the player is pushing against a move away from Catalonia during the January transfer window. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United have broken two unwanted club Premier League records in their humiliating 3-0 home defeat to Bournemouth. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk New Wolverhampton Wanderers' boss Vitor Pereira earned three points when his side comfortably beat Ruud van Nistelrooy's Leicester City 3-0 away from home on Sunday afternoon in the Premier League. 22 December 2024 talksport.com Aaron Ramsdale was spotted wearing a modified goalkeeper glove in Southampton's Premier League clash at Fulham. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Chelsea squandered the chance to go top of the Premier League table for a couple of hours as Everton held the Blues to a goalless stalemate at Goodison Park. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Djed Spence has been named in the Tottenham Hotspur starting XI for their Premier League clash with Liverpool, while Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo get the nod up front for the visitors. 22 December 2024 talksport.com Manchester United were beaten 3-0 by Bournemouth in a defeat that saw Ruben Amorim's side achieve an unwanted record. 22 December 2024 talksport.com Gary Neville believes that Ruben Amorim will allow Marcus Rashford to leave Manchester United for the sake of 'himself and the club'. 22 December 2024 talksport.com Pep Guardiola isn't immune from the sack at Manchester City having continued their unprecedented and dismal run of form.