Benfica and Rio Ave return to action this weekend when they go head to head at the Estadio da Luz in round nine of the Portuguese Primeira Liga on Sunday.
Both sides head into the weekend off the back of contrasting results, with the Vilacondenses seeing off their-tier side Atletico CP to reach the fourth round of the Taca de Portugal.
Match preview
© Imago
Benfica's 100% record in the Champions League came to an end on Wednesday when they suffered a 3-1 defeat against Eredivisie side Feyenoord when the two teams squared off at the Estadio da Luz.
Ayase Ueda and Antoni Milambo both found the back of the net to hand Feyenoord a comfortable first-half lead, and after Kerem Akturkoglu pulled one back for the hosts in the 66th minute, Milambo netted his second in stoppage time to see off a late comeback scare.
Prior to that, Benfica kicked off the Champions League campaign with a 2-1 victory over Serbian outfit Red Star Belgrade on September 19, two weeks before thrashing La Liga giants Atletico Madrid 4-0 on home turf.
Bruno Lage's men now turn their focus to the Primeira Liga, where they are on a run of three back-to-back wins and are unbeaten in their last six matches, claiming five wins and one draw while scoring 17 goals and keeping three clean sheets since a 2-0 loss at Famalicao on the opening weekend back in August.
Having finished in second place last season, As Aguias have picked up 16 points from their opening eight games this term to sit fourth in the standings, eight points adrift of league leaders Sporting Lisbon.
Benfica will be backing themselves to return to winning ways this weekend as they take on an opposing side against whom they are unbeaten in each of their 13 clashes, picking up 12 wins and one draw since a 3-2 extra-time defeat in the Taca de Portugal back in December 2017.
© Imago
Rio Ave, on the other hand, avoided an upset in their first outing of the 2024-25 Taca de Portugal campaign as they held on to secure a 3-1 extra-time victory over Liga 3 outfit Atletico CP at the Estadio da Tapadinha last Saturday.
Pedro Pinto struck in the 84th minute to cancel out Fabio Ronaldo's first-half strike and take Atletico into extra time, but Aderllan Santos and Ahmed Mahgoub scored quick-fire goals to send the visitors through to the fourth round.
Head coach Luis Freire will that hope the cup victory can serve as a catalyst for an upturn in form in the Primeira Liga, where they have failed to win their last four matches, losing twice and claiming two draws since a 1-0 victory over Arouca on September 1.
Rio Ave have picked up just two wins from their eight league games so far while losing four and claiming two draws to collect eight points and sit 12th in the table, but could move level with eighth-placed Moreirnese with all three points this weekend.
While the Vilacondenses will be looking to pick up from where they left off in the Taca de Portugal, they journey to the Estadio Jose Alvalade, where Sporting Lisbon have won each of their 14 league games since the turn of the year.
Rio Ave's form on the road also offers little optimism as they have failed to win their 14 Primeira Liga away games in 2024, losing six and claiming eight draws since the start of the year.
Team News
© Imago
Benfica will take to the pitch without 23-year-old forward Tiago Gouveia, who has missed each of the last eight games since picking up a shoulder injury against Estrela on August 24.
He is joined on the As Aguias' injury table by teenage forward Gianluca Prestianni, who is set to sit out his third straight game through an ankle injury.
Leandro Barreiro missed the midweek loss against Feyenoord after picking up a thigh problem in the cup win over Pevidem and the 24-year-old midfielder is also out of contention for this weekend's hosts.
Rio Ave, meanwhile, remain without the services of Anxhelo Sina, who is yet to make his debut following his move from Olympiacos as he continues his spell on the sidelines.
Marios Vrousai picked up a straight red card in the second half of the midweek cup over Atletico and the Greek midfielder will sit out this weekend's clash through a one-game suspension.
Benfica possible starting lineup:
Trubin; Bah, Araujo, Otamendi, Carreras; Aursnes, Luis; Di Maria, Kokcu, Akturkoglu; Pavlidis
Rio Ave possible starting lineup:
Jhonatan; Panzo, Santos, William; Novais, Oudrhiri, Neto, Richards; Bondoso, Clayton, Aguilera
We say: Benfica 3-1 Rio Ave
Having won six straight games before Wednesday's defeat against Bodo/Glimt, Benfica will head into the weekend looking to clean the dust off their feet and return to winning ways.
While Rio Ave set out in search of consecutive wins for the first time since March 2023, they have struggled to get going away from home and we fancy As Aguias to extend their dominance in this fixture.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joshua Ojele
