Preview: Benfica vs Gil Vicente - prediction, team news, lineups

Looking to secure a fifth straight Primeira Liga victory, Benfica welcome Gil Vicente to Estadio da Luz for matchday six action on Sunday.

Marco Silva's team enter this encounter on the back of a convincing victory over Moreirense in their rescheduled matchday three fixture in midweek, while the Barcelos visitors suffered their first defeat of the campaign last time out against newly promoted Academico de Viseu.

Match preview

Silva looks to be pressing the right buttons after steering Benfica to six straight wins across all competitions, with four of those coming in the league following a disappointing opening-weekend draw against newly promoted Academico.

The Eagles have now scored a mammoth 16 goals during that winning league streak, coming across victories over Casa Pia, Estoril Praia and Maritimo, as well as the midweek success at Moreirense, where goals from Vangelis Pavlidis, Andreas Schjelderup, Gianluca Prestianni and Fredrik Aursnes secured maximum points in emphatic fashion.

That success saw Benfica move up to second in the early-season Primeira Liga table, two points behind leaders Porto and level with city rivals Sporting Lisbon, a position offering genuine hope of a title push for the Eagles, who have not won the championship in three years; they finished third last term under Jose Mourinho.

Another triumph this weekend would see the Reds record five league wins on the bounce for the first time since a run of nine straight victories in the Portuguese top flight between January and April 2025, and they can at least draw confidence from a dominant home record in this fixture.

Benfica have won nine of their last 11 league meetings with Gil Vicente at Da Luz (L2), including each of the last four, with the most recent a 2-1 success when the sides met at the ground in September last year.

This appears even more daunting for a Gil Vicente side who now look their most vulnerable of the season, having suffered a first defeat of the campaign in a 1-0 loss to newly promoted Academico last weekend.

After going six full halves without conceding, Gil Vicente's rearguard was finally breached just four minutes into that encounter at Estadio Cidade de Barcelos, with Joao Guilherme's strike proving decisive and handing the visitors from Viseu a first victory of the campaign.

The result saw Luis Pinto suffer a first competitive defeat at the helm since his appointment in June. It also left Gil Vicente seventh in the standings on seven points from four matches, having beaten Rio Ave and Casa Pia before a goalless draw with Famalicao on matchday four.

As such, the Roosters have gone back-to-back league matches without finding the net, and failure to do so this weekend will see them draw a blank in three consecutive league outings for the first time since February 2025.

Gil Vicente's record on the road leaves little in the way of optimism, having failed to score an away league goal on any of the last three trips, while a winless run in the Primeira Liga now stretches to seven matches on their travels (D4, L3), a sequence dating back to the previous season.

Benfica Primeira Liga form:

Benfica form (all competitions):

Gil Vicente Primeira Liga form:

Team News

Benfica are expected to remain without Alexander Bah, who is sidelined with a shoulder injury, meaning youth prospect Daniel Banjaqui could retain his spot at right-back.

Schjelderup scored a goal and provided a brace of assists last time out, with Prestianni also finding the net and setting up another, so both players are likely to keep their places in attack.

Pavlidis's opener from the spot last time out marked his sixth goal of the Primeira Liga campaign, and the Greek striker will look to add to that tally here.

Captain Aursnes marked his first league appearance with a goal from the bench against Moreirense, with the Norwegian midfielder now pushing for a start on Sunday, though head coach Silva could opt to stick with his winning lineup from that encounter.

Gil Vicente's defeat to Academico came at a cost, with Weverson forced off in the first half and now doubtful for Sunday's game, meaning David Moreira is likely to replace him.

Meanwhile, Ivory Coast defender Mohamed Bamba is also a doubt, while Arthur Tchaptchet and Walace Franca remain sidelined.

Benfica possible starting lineup:

Soares; Banjaqui, Araujo, Lenglet, Dahl; Palhinha, Barreiro; R Silva, Prestianni, Schjelderup; Pavlidis

Gil Vicente possible starting lineup:

Lucao; Esgaio, Buatu, Elimbi, Moreira; Carlos, Martins, Prioste; Souza, Hernandez, Fernandez

We say: Benfica 2-0 Gil Vicente

A home defeat to a newly promoted side is not the ideal confidence boost for Gil Vicente ahead of a trip to face a high-flying Benfica side, and we expect the hosts to record a convincing victory in this encounter, even if the visitors' defensive resilience shows for periods of the game.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.