Preview: Casa Pia vs Benfica - prediction, team news, lineups

Casa Pia host Benfica at Estadio Municipal de Rio Maior on Monday for the closing fixture of matchday two in the Primeira Liga, with both sides looking to bounce back from disappointing opening results.

The Eagles were held to a 2-2 draw at home by Academico de Viseu in their opener, while the Geese head into this encounter on the back of a 1-0 defeat to Maritimo.

Match preview

Marco Silva replaced Jose Mourinho as Benfica's head coach in June after the 63-year-old manager departed for Real Madrid, but the former Fulham boss' first Primeira Liga game ended in frustration.

Having seen his side take an early lead through Vangelis Pavlidis, Silva would have expected a comfortable victory over the newly promoted visitors, but the Reds surrendered their advantage on two occasions to settle for a share of the spoils.

That result served as a reminder of the excessive number of draws that limited Benfica's title challenge last season, with the Eagles finishing third after being held 11 times, despite remaining the only side in the division to avoid defeat.

In fact, Benfica have not lost a Primeira Liga match in their last 50 outings, with their most recent such defeat coming on matchday 19 of the 2024-25 campaign when they suffered a 3-1 loss to Casa Pia, a result that offers some caution heading into Monday's fixture at the same ground.

That said, the Eagles enter this encounter on the back of a 1-1 draw at Hearts in the Europa League third qualifying round, with the result sealing a 7-2 aggregate victory for Silva's side, who will now face Aarhus in the playoff round.

Filipe Coelho's competitive bow as Casa Pia's head coach ended in defeat in Funchal, with Raphael Guzzo's 61st-minute strike enough to see off the Geese, who failed to make the most of their greater share of possession.

The result saw Os Gansos suffer their first loss in five league outings, having ended the 2025-26 campaign by avoiding defeat in their final two matchdays to finish 16th before prevailing over Torreense across two playoff legs under Alvaro Pacheco, who departed afterwards.

Taking his first senior head coaching role after spells coaching Chelsea's Under-21 side and working as an assistant at Strasbourg, Coelho is tasked with securing a more comfortable survival for the Geese.

The new manager will also be looking to improve the team's home record, with Casa Pia managing just two victories from 17 league matches (D6, L9) at Rio Maior last term, while only now-relegated Tondela and AVS picked up fewer points than the Geese's 15 on their own turf.

However, the hosts have every reason to believe heading into Monday's clash, considering they have now gone unbeaten in their last three meetings with Benfica, recording 1-1 and 2-2 draws across both legs last term following their victory over the Eagles in the 2024-25 return fixture in Rio Maior.

Casa Pia Primeira Liga form:

Benfica Primeira Liga form:

Benfica form (all competitions):

Team News

Casa Pia's defeat at Maritimo came with an injury concern, as Joao Goulart was forced off late on, and, if deemed unfit to feature, David Sousa is expected to fill in alongside Kaly at the heart of defence.

Meanwhile, goalkeeper Andre Gomes and attacker Henrique Araujo are pushing to retain their places as they face their former club this weekend, having both departed Benfica this summer.

Benfica will assess the fitness of captain Fredrik Aursnes before deciding whether the Norwegian is fit enough to be involved, although his lack of match minutes this season makes a recall to the starting XI unlikely regardless.

With Antonio Silva and Amar Dedic both having left the club, Alexander Bah is expected to continue at right-back, while Silva could also freshen up his attacking options following the demands of a busy week that included the Hearts second leg.

Prestianni scored a goal and provided an assist last time out and is expected to keep his place on the flank, while Pavlidis, who scored 20 league goals last term, will be looking to maintain his scoring form after finding the net six times in his last four appearances.

Casa Pia possible starting lineup:

Gomes; Geraldes, Kaly, Sousa, Conte; Perez, Ofori; Rochinha, Gabi, Prieto; Araujo

Benfica possible starting lineup:

Trubin; Bah, Araujo, Lenglet, Dahl; Barreiro, Rios; Schjelderup, Rafa Silva, Prestianni; Pavlidis

We say: Casa Pia 1-3 Benfica

Casa Pia's history of springing the occasional surprise against Benfica, combined with the emotional edge of facing two of their former players, should make this a more difficult occasion than Benfica's status as last season's runners-up might suggest.

However, the gulf in overall squad quality, coupled with Benfica's need to arrest a stuttering start to the domestic season, should be enough to see Silva's side leave Rio Maior with all three points.

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