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Benfica
Primeira Liga | Gameweek 18
Jan 15, 2022 at 6pm UK
Estádio da Luz
Moreirense

Benfica
1 - 1
Moreirense

Nunez (65')
Silva (55'), Otamendi (86'), Grimaldo (90+6')
FT(HT: 0-0)
Gilberto (61' og.)
Pacheco (40'), Martins (45+1'), Paulinho (72'), Jorge (89'), Kewin (90+6')

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

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

On Saturday, Benfica will welcome Moreirense to Estadio da Luz, with both teams looking to claim consecutive victories.

The hosts head into the weekend in third position, seven points behind the league leaders, while the visitors are embroiled in a relegation battle.


Match preview

Benfica coach Nelson Verissimo reacts on January 9, 2022© Reuters

At the halfway mark of the Primeira Liga season, Benfica find themselves in a fight to win their 38th league title as they sit seven points adrift of Porto, while they are four points behind second-placed Sporting Lisbon.

The new year started on a positive note, as Benfica claimed a 2-0 home victory over Pacos Ferreira last weekend thanks to a goal apiece from Joao Mario and Alejandro Grimaldo.

That result represented Nelson Verissimo's first win in his latest stint as caretaker boss, and the interim boss will be hoping that his team can start the new year with consecutive victories.

In fact, Benfica enter Saturday's contest in imperious home form after winning their last four games at the Estadio da Luz in all competitions, scoring 14 goals in that period while only conceding once.

Having scored more home goals than any other side in the Primeira Liga, Saturday's hosts will be confident of claiming all three points against Moreirense.

Moreirense's Lazar Rosic in action on October 23, 2021© Reuters

As for the visitors, they are currently level on points with Famalicao who are located in the relegation playoff place, while they are also only a point clear of the drop zone.

Os verdes e brancos gave their survival chances a boost last weekend as they edged out Vizela to claim their second victory in three games.

In that contest, a 59th-minute strike from Rafael Martins proved enough to help Ricardo Sa Pinto's side claim a 1-0 victory, which represented their first league win on the road this season.

Although, achieving consecutive away victories will be a difficult task as Moreirense have failed to beat Benfica in their last six competitive meetings.

Five defeats in their last six away games will only add to the visitors's pessimism ahead of the weekend, although if the away side are to cause Benfica problems, the threat is likely to come late into the encounter as Moreirense have scored four of their six away league goals in the final 15 minutes of games this season.

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

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

Moreirense Primeira Liga form:
  • D
  • L
  • L
  • W
  • L
  • W

Moreirense form (all competitions):
  • L
  • L
  • L
  • W
  • L
  • W



Team News

Benfica's Alejandro Grimaldo celebrates scoring their second goal with teammates on January 9, 2022© Reuters

Benfica have welcomed back a number of players with Soualiho Meite, Odisseas Vlachodimos, Pizzi, Roman Yaremchuk, and Jan Vertonghen all available after recovering from coronavirus and serving their respective isolation periods.

Although, the hosts will be without Rodrigo Pinho, Lucas Verissimo, and Nemanja Radonjic, who are unavailable due to injury issues.

Andre Almeida is expected to return to the starting lineup after being suspended for last weekend's contest.

Meanwhile, the visitors are without Sori Mane, who is currently at the Africa Cup of Nations with Bissau-Guinea.

Following their victory last weekend, Sa Pinto could name an unchanged lineup.

Martins will continue to lead the line, and will be aiming to score for a fourth consecutive game.

Benfica possible starting lineup:
Vlachodimos; Gilberto, Otamendi, Vertonghen, Almeida; Silva, Mario, Weigl, Everton; Ramos, Yaremchuk

Moreirense possible starting lineup:
Kewin; Santos, Vitoria, Jorge; Paulinho, Pacheco, Soares, Conte; Yan, Silva, Martins


SM words green background

We say: Benfica 3-1 Moreirense

Benfica claimed a narrow victory against Moreirense in August, and with home advantage on Saturday, we think that they will have a slightly more comfortable afternoon as they bid to remain in touch with the league leaders.



Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 2.5 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.Over 2.5:data



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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 77.7%. A draw had a probability of 14.4% and a win for Moreirense had a probability of 7.94%.

The most likely scoreline for a Benfica win was 2-0 with a probability of 12.46%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 3-0 (10.71%) and 1-0 (9.66%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (6.82%), while for a Moreirense win it was 0-1 (2.64%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with a 6.8% likelihood.


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Game History

How you voted: Benfica vs Moreirense

Benfica
96.6%
Draw
3.4%
Moreirense
0.0%
29
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rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Sporting Lisbon25212275255065
2Benfica26204260213964
3Porto26184450183258
4Braga26165555342153
5Vitoria de GuimaraesGuimaraes26155641271450
6MoreirenseMoreirense2612682827142
7AroucaArouca26104124337634
8FamalicaoFamalicao2561092430-628
9Gil Vicente2677123539-428
10BoavistaBoavista2677123351-1828
11Casa Pia2676132339-1627
12SC FarenseFarense2676133438-427
13Estrela Amadora2668122639-1326
14Estoril PraiaEstoril2674154249-725
15Rio AveRio Ave2641392635-925
16PortimonensePortimonense2665152453-2923
17Vizela2649132652-2621
18ChavesChaves2647152556-3119


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