Looking to book their place in the final of this year's Taca da Liga, Benfica and Boavista go head to head at the Estadio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica on Tuesday.
The hosts, who were knocked out at this stage of the competition last year, are on a two-game winning streak against Os Axadrezados and will look to keep the juggernaut rolling and edge closer to their first title since 2016.
Match preview
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Benfica returned to winning ways in the Primeira Liga last Friday when they comfortably saw off Arouca 2-0 at the Estadio Municipal de Arouca.
Uruguayan forward Darwin Nunez continued his spectacular season as he opened the scoring from the spot just after the half-hour mark before Goncalo Ramos put the icing on the cake in the 92nd minute.
Prior to that, Nelson Verissimo's side ended their two-game losing streak when they claimed a 2-0 win over Pacos de Ferreira on January 9, before crashing back down to earth one week later when they were held to a 1-1 draw by relegation-threatened Moreirense.
As Aguias, who are currently third in the Primeira Liga with 44 points from 19 games, now turn their sight to the Taca da Liga, where they edged out Vitoria de Guimaraes on penalties in their opening game before claiming a comprehensive 3-0 victory over Covilha on December 15.
Benfica will now look to keep the ball rolling and go all the way in the competition, where they have a real shot at domestic silverware this season after crashing out of the Taca de Portugal at the hands of rivals Porto back in December.
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Boavista, on the other hand, have enjoyed a sensational Taca de Portugal campaign so far, claiming regular-time victories in each of their four games, while scoring 10 goals and keeping two clean sheets in that time.
Os Axadrezados stamped their name as genuine contenders for the title in their last outing when they claimed a thrilling 5-1 victory over 2019-20 champions Braga at the Estadio do Bessa on December 16.
In that encounter, Gustavo Sauer, Petar Musa, Yusupha Njie and Nathan Santos all found the target to put the hosts in a commanding four-goal lead, and after Braga pulled one back through Iuri Medeiros, Sauer scored his second of the night to cap off a brilliant team performance.
That result served as a springboard for a decent run of form as Petit's men, who were previously on a nine-game winless run, as they head into Tuesday's game unbeaten since then, picking up one win and four draws from their subsequent five games.
While Boavista will look to keep their fine run going, next up is the stern test of taking on an opposing side who are unbeaten in 13 of the last 15 meetings between the sides, claiming 11 wins and two draws in that time.
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Team News
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With Benfica now at the business end of the competition, we expect Verissimo to name his strongest side on Tuesday, meaning we could see the likes of Nicolas Otamendi, Julian Weigl and Nunez all in the starting lineup.
With his strike against Arouca last time out, Nunez now has 15 goals in 16 Primeira Liga games and the in-form Uruguayan will look to come up trumps for his side again.
On the injury front, As Aguias remain without Lucas Verissimo, who has been out of action since picking up a severe knee problem against Braga back in November.
He is joined on the club's injury table by fellow countryman Rodrigo Pinho, who continues his spell on the sidelines having sustained a muscle injury in August last year.
On the other hand, Boavista will once again make do with the absence of Nije, who is currently with the Gambian national team at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations.
Besides the 28-year-old, there should be no absentees for Boavista heading into the game as they boast a clean bill of health and no suspension concerns, giving Petit the luxury of a full squad once again.
Kenji Gorre staked his claim for a starting role after coming off the bench to grab a late equaliser against Pacos de Ferreira last time out and the 27-year-old midfielder could come into the XI on Tuesday.
Benfica possible starting lineup:
Vlachodimos; Almeida, Otamendi, Vertonghen, Grimaldo; Gilberto, Weigl, Mario, Silva; Nunez, Goncalves
Boavista possible starting lineup:
Bracali; Cannon, Santos, Abascal; Santos, Hamache, Makouta, Perez, Gorre; Gorre, Musa, Sauer
We say: Benfica 2-0 Boavista
Boavista have enjoyed a stellar run in the competition so far and will look to upset the hosts and keep their fairytale run alive and kicking. However, they have lost each of their last five visits to the Estadio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica and we are backing the hosts to extend this dominance and come out victorious once again.
Top tip
Joshua Ojele
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 81.23%. A draw had a probability of 12.8% and a win for Boavista had a probability of 6.02%.
The most likely scoreline for a Benfica win was 2-0 with a probability of 13.48%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 3-0 (12.04%) and 1-0 (10.06%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (6.06%), while for a Boavista win it was 0-1 (2.26%).
