Benfica get their 2021-22 Primeira Liga campaign underway with a clash against Moreirense at the Parque de Jogos Comendador Joaquim de Almeida Freitas on Saturday.
The away side will once again be expected to battle with Porto and defending champions Sporting Lisbon for the title, while the hosts should be in contention for a European spot after narrowly missing out last term.
Match preview
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Benfica took a giant step towards progressing into the last stage of the UEFA Champions League qualifying rounds courtesy of a 2-0 victory versus Spartak Moscow on Wednesday.
Second-half goals from Rafa Silva and Gilberto secured a crucial away triumph for Jorge Jesus's men in Russia ahead of the return leg next Tuesday.
In the meantime, As Aguias have their sights set on a good start to the new domestic season as they go in search of a 38th league title following second and third-place finishes in the last two campaigns.
Standing in their way is a Moreirense side against whom Benfica have a near-perfect record in recent encounters involving the teams.
Saturday's visitors have emerged victorious on eight of their last 10 trips to the home side, with their only defeat in that time coming in a Taca da Liga semi-final tie four years ago.
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Moreirense will not be featuring in this year's edition of the aforementioned tournament after they were knocked out in the qualifying round on penalties by lower league opposition Penafiel a fortnight ago.
Vasco Seabra's men fell behind to a Rui Pedro opener midway through the second period, but parity was restored in double-quick time by Goncalo Franco, whose missed spotkick decided the shootout.
The result was in keeping with Os Verdes e Brancos' last two pre-season outings, where they suffered humiliating 4-0 and 3-0 defeats to Sporting Braga and Santa Clara respectively.
Saturday's hosts must now put all that behind them as they prepare for the start of their eighth consecutive season in the Portuguese top flight.
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Team News
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The trio of Andre Almeida, Darwin Nunez and Rodrigo Pinho are sidelined with knee injuries and are ruled out for the away side.
Twenty-year-old Tiago Araujo is also expected not to play any part in the contest as he remains down with a muscle problem which has ruled him out of action since April.
Haris Seferovic was hauled off in the first half of Benfica's last outing, and his involvement this weekend is uncertain.
Pedro Amador is yet to recover from a long-term knee injury which limited him to just four league appearances last season.
Derik Lacerda's spell on the treatment table continues due to a shoulder injury, but the Brazilian midfielder is not far off a return to action.
Moreirense possible starting lineup:
Oliveira; Conte, Rosic, Pacheco, Jorge; Silva, Franco, Ramos, Pires; Soares, Martins
Benfica possible starting lineup:
Vlachodimos; Vertonghen, Otamendi, Verissimo; Grimaldo, Weigl, Mario, Goncalves; Pizzi, Silva, Ramos
We say: Moreirense 0-3 Benfica
Benfica have made it a habit of flying out of the blocks in recent seasons and will be fired up for this one as they go in search of yet another league crown. We are backing them to claim an emphatic victory, scoring plenty of goals en route.
Top tip
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 67.7%. A draw had a probability of 19.8% and a win for Moreirense had a probability of 12.49%.
The most likely scoreline for a Benfica win was 0-2 with a probability of 12.95%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-1 (12.73%) and 1-2 (9.54%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (9.38%), while for a Moreirense win it was 1-0 (4.61%). The actual scoreline of 1-2 was predicted with a 9.5% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Benfica would win this match.
