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Vitoria de Guimaraes
Primeira Liga | Gameweek 34
May 19, 2021 at 8pm UK
Estadio D Afonso Henriques
Benfica

Guimaraes
1 - 3
Benfica

Fernandes (63')
Fernandes (53')
FT(HT: 0-0)
Seferovic (48', 58'), Everton (90+1')
Taarabt (43')

Preview: Vitoria de Guimaraes vs. Benfica - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Wednesday's Primeira Liga clash between Vitoria de Guimaraes and Benfica, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Fresh off handing champions Sporting Lisbon their first league defeat of the season, Benfica travel to Vitoria de Guimaraes on Wednesday for the final game of the domestic league season.

Despite a strong run of form in the final month of the season, the consistency of rivals Porto meant that the visitors can no longer finish in the top two of the Primeira Liga table, although they will still be desperate to finish the league campaign with a third straight league victory as they go into the Taca de Portugal final on Sunday.


Match preview

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

Vitoria de Guimaraes went into Sunday's clash against Maritimo knowing that two victories from their last two games of the season would guarantee them a top-six finish.

However, Os Vimaranenses were unable to break the deadlock against the 13th-placed side, as the game finished goalless.

While they remain in sixth spot, Vitoria now sit level on points with seventh-placed Santa Clara, meaning that they will lose their position in the top six if Daniel Ramos's men better their result on the final day of the season.

The Guimaraes outfit's spot has come up for contention due to their poor form in the last few months, having won just three of their 18 games since the beginning of February, while picking up just 14 points in that time.

That poor form has resulted in the departure of both Joao Henriques and Bino, with Moreno stepping up to take charge of the first team for the final stage of the campaign.

While they have displayed the form of a relegation-threatened side rather than a team pushing for a top-six finish recently, Os Vimaranenses remain in pole position for the spot, and will seal that finish if they win Wednesday's game, or match Santa Clara's result.

That will be no easy task though, as they take on a Benfica side who have won five of their last six matches in the Portuguese top flight coming into the final day of the season.

A general shot of Marcus Edwards celebrating with teammates for Vitoria de Guimaraes in June 2020© Reuters

Benfica took on newly-crowned champions Sporting Lisbon at home on Saturday, in a Lisbon derby between two sides in strong runs of form.

As Aguias got off to the perfect start as they took a three-goal lead in the first half through Haris Seferovic, Pizzi and Lucas Verissimo, before Pedro Goncalves pulled a goal back for the visitors on the stroke of half time.

Seferovic would go on to restore their three-goal lead early in the second half with his second goal of the match, and Jorge Jesus's side held on for the victory despite late goals from Nuno Santos and Goncalves to pull the game back to 4-3.

Unfortunately for the 37-time Primeira Liga champions, Porto's victory on Saturday meant that they can no longer achieve a second-placed finish, while they sit 10 points clear of fourth-placed Braga.

Nevertheless, having won five of their last six games and drawn the other with Porto, Jesus's side will still be keen to finish the league season with a win to stretch their impressive run of form, building more momentum as they go into a crucial game with Braga in the Taca de Portugal final on Sunday.

Vitoria de Guimaraes Primeira Liga form:
  • L
  • L
  • W
  • D
  • L
  • D

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



Team News

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

Vitoria de Guimaraes will remain without midfielder Joseph Amoah through injury, although Jacob Maddox was fit enough to make then bench last time out after long term spell on the sidelines alongside Amoah.

They will welcome winger Ricardo Quaresma and midfielder Andre Andre back from suspensions, boosting competition for starting spots, although Moreno could stick with Marcus Edwards and Diogo Rochinha.

The new manager opted to start Bruno Duarte in the centre-forward role last time out in place of Oscar Estupinan, who has gone through somewhat of a dry spell, having failed to score in his last eight league appearances after a prolific start to life in Guimaraes as he netted eight goals in his first 14 games.

Benfica will remain without Andreas Samaris, Joao Ferreira and Andre Almeida through injury, while Rafa Silva and Adel Taarabt both returned to the squad for the recent Lisbon derby following spells out of action.

With little to play for in the league other than the highest possible points tally, coupled with the cup final approaching on Sunday, Jesus could look to rotate his side on Wednesday to ensure his key players are fresh for the crucial game at the weekend.

That could see the likes of Taarabt, Julian Weigl, Pizzi and Haris Seferovic dropped to the bench, with the latter firing in 20 goals alongside seven assists in 30 league games this season.

In their place, Pedrinho, Luca Waldschmidt, Darwin Nunez and Gabriel Pires could all come into the side for the final league game of the campaign.

Vitoria de Guimaraes possible starting lineup:
Varela; Fernandes, Amaro, Mumin; Sacko, Andre, Pepelu, Mensah; Edwards, Duarte, Rochinha

Benfica possible starting lineup:
Leite; Verissimo, Otamendi, Vertonghen; Goncalves, Gabriel, Pedrinho, Grimaldo; Nunez, Waldschmidt, Everton


SM words green background

We say: Vitoria de Guimaraes 0-2 Benfica

The two sides come into this game in opposite runs of form, and we do not see the hosts pulling off a surprise result on Wednesday.

After an inconsistent run of form towards the beginning of the calendar year, Benfica have managed to hit their stride again, and they should not slow down as they aim to build momentum going into the cup final this weekend.



Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 1.5 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 1.5: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 61.89%. A draw had a probability of 20.3% and a win for Vitoria de Guimaraes had a probability of 17.8%.

The most likely scoreline for a Benfica win was 1-2 with a probability of 9.92%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-2 (9.55%) and 0-1 (9.05%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (9.41%), while for a Vitoria de Guimaraes win it was 2-1 (4.89%). The actual scoreline of 1-3 was predicted with a 7% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Benfica would win this match.


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Game History

How you voted: Guimaraes vs Benfica

Vitoria de Guimaraes
19.4%
Draw
3.2%
Benfica
77.4%
31
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Sporting Lisbon's Pedro Goncalves celebrates scoring their first goal with teammates in January 2021
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rhs 2.0
Today's games header
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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