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Benfica
Primeira Liga | Gameweek 27
Apr 17, 2021 at 6pm UK
Estádio da Luz
Gil Vicente logo

Benfica
1 - 2
Gil Vicente

Carvalho (87' og.)
Verissimo (31')
FT(HT: 0-1)
Leautey (35'), Lourency (81')
Denis (90+2')

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

Sports Mole previews Saturday's Primeira Liga clash between Benfica and Gil Vicente, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Benfica will look to record a seventh straight league victory on Saturday, when they welcome Gil Vicente to the Estadio da Luz.

As Aguias have moved back up third in the Primeira Liga table thanks to their strong league run, while the visitors have moved up to 10th spot courtesy of an upturn in form.


Match preview

Benfica coach Jorge Jesus in the Europa League on February 18, 2021© Reuters

Benfica come into this game having hit a strong run of form, recording seven consecutive victories in all competitions.

Last time out, Jorge Jesus's side recorded a dominant win, thrashing fifth-placed Pacos de Ferreira 5-0.

Goals from Diogo Goncalves, Rafa Silva, Darwin Nunez and a Haris Seferovic brace sealed a dominant win for As Aguias, while the defence secured their seventh consecutive clean sheet in all competitions.

That strong run of form has fired the Lisbon outfit back up to third place in the league, now sitting three points behind second-placed Porto and nine points behind league leaders Sporting Lisbon.

Their lofty league position is largely down to their solid defensive record, with only Sporting conceding fewer than the 17 goals that Jesus's men have shipped in 26 league games this season.

Their attack has arguably been equally strong too, with only Porto netting more than their 48 goals this campaign.

While their title hopes may be over for this season, Jesus will be hopeful that his side can still secure a finish in the top two, and confirm Champions League qualification for the next campaign.

To give themselves the best chance of finishing in the top two, As Aguias will have to continue their impressive winning run, starting with three points on Saturday.

They take on a Gil Vicente side who will be looking to bounce back from a narrow defeat to Moreirense last time out.

Benfica's Haris Seferovic celebrates scoring their first goal with teammates in January 2021© Reuters

Pedro Marques equalised for Os Gilistas after half time in that game, but a Ygor Nogueira own goal sealed a narrow 2-1 win for the visitors.

That broke a run of three consecutive league victories for Ricardo Soares's side, which saw them move away from the threat of the relegation zone.

Wins against Vitoria de Guimaraes, Nacional and Rio Ave have moved Os Gilistas up to 10th spot, now sitting four points above Maritimo in the relegation playoff place and six points above the automatic drop zone.

While they now sit much more comfortably in the table, Soares's men are anything but safe yet, given how tight the bottom half of the Portuguese top flight is.

As a result, he will be desperate for his side to get back to winning ways soon, as another run of victories before the end of the season should see them avoid the drop.

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

Benfica form (all competitions):
  • W
  • W
  • W
  • W
  • W
  • W

Gil Vicente Primeira Liga form:
  • L
  • L
  • W
  • W
  • W
  • L



Team News

Benfica's Darwin Nunez celebrates with a teammate after scoring against Rangers on November 5, 2020© Reuters

Benfica will remain without defender Andre Almeida and midfielder Andreas Samaris, as the pair continue spells out with injuries.

Haris Seferovic will lead the line for As Aguias, having taken his tally to 16 league goals for the season with a brace last time out.

He could be supported by Luca Waldschmidt and Rafa Silva, although Darwin Nunez will hope that his goal in the last game will earn him a spot back in the starting team.

Jesus opted to switch to a system of three centre-backs in the game against Pacos de Ferreira, with Jan Vertonghen coming in alongside the impressive pairing of Nicolas Otamendi and Lucas Verissimo.

Gil Vicente will be without centre-back Ygor Nogueira, who will serve a suspension after he accumulated his 10th yellow card of the season last time out.

He is joined on the sidelines by young forward Miullen, who remains out with a long-term knee injury.

Kanya Fujimoto and Lourency will offer attacking threat from wide positions, although they could have to cover more ground defensively against a dominant Benfica side.

Benfica possible starting lineup:
Leite; Verissimo, Otamendi, Vertonghen; Goncalves, Taarabt, Weigl, Grimaldo; Silva, Seferovic, Nunez

Gil Vicente possible starting lineup:
Denis; Pereira, Fernandes, Rodrigao, Talocha; Fujimoto, Pedrinho, Afonso, Goncalves, Lourency; Marques


SM words green background

We say: Benfica 3-0 Gil Vicente

Benfica have managed to hit their best run of form this season in the last month, and we do not see Gil Vicente stopping them on Saturday.

As Aguias have looked formidable defensively and will look to see out another clean sheet, while their potent attacking line should have more than enough to fire them to another dominant win.



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



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Written by
Sam Varley

Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Benfica win with a probability of 77.43%. A draw had a probability of 15.6% and a win for Gil Vicente had a probability of 6.99%.

The most likely scoreline for a Benfica win was 2-0 with a probability of 15.46%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (13.39%) and 3-0 (11.9%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (7.21%), while for a Gil Vicente win it was 0-1 (3.12%). The actual scoreline of 1-2 was predicted with a 1.9% likelihood.


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Game History

How you voted: Benfica vs Gil Vicente

Benfica
90.9%
Draw
9.1%
Gil Vicente
0.0%
11
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Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Sporting Lisbon1311024083233
2Benfica1210113172431
3Porto1310123192231
4Santa ClaraSanta Clara139041612427
5Braga137332213924
6Vitoria de GuimaraesGuimaraes136341612421
7MoreirenseMoreirense136251918120
8FamalicaoFamalicao134631412218
9Rio AveRio Ave134361323-1015
10Casa Pia133551117-614
11Estoril PraiaEstoril133551219-714
12Gil Vicente133461624-813
13Estrela Amadora133371222-1012
14BoavistaBoavista13256816-811
15AVS132561021-1111
16Nacional12237717-109
17SC FarenseFarense13238719-129
18AroucaArouca13229723-168


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