Our prediction for this Portugal Primeira Liga match:
Benfica
Match Time & Date:
26/04/2021
02:00 PM
Prediction: 3-1
Santa Clara
Buoyed by a thrilling 5-1 win over Portimonense, Benfica will be looking to retain their spot in top three when they host Santa Clara at their Estadio da Luz. The Eagles quickly bounced back from a shocking 2-1 loss to Gil Vicente, with the team regaining a much-needed confidence. Since the capital club aim to represent Portugal in the Champions League for yet another term, home win should definitely be considered.
A man to watch in the home team will be Haris Seferovic, who has been scoring goals for fun this season. Both Almeida and Araujo are likely to miss the game with injuries. Santa Clara, on the other hand, aim to keep their Europa League hopes alive, but given their four-game losing run on the road, we believe that punters can find value in betting on the Lisbon Eagles. Santa Clara midfielder Romao remains on the sidelines with injury.
Highlighted Player (Jan Vertonghen):
After spending four years at Ajax, in 2006 Jan Vertonghen signed a loan deal with RKC Waalwijk. The left-footed defender spent one season at Mandemakers Stadion and he returned to Ajax for the 2007/2008 season. The highly rated footballer, who is capable of playing as both centre back and left back, signed a deal with Tottenham Hotspur on 8 July, 2012 and he has been playing for the Premier League outfit ever since.
The Belgian defender scored four goals for the Spurs in the 2012/2013 Premier League season and he made 34 league appearances for the White Hart Lane outfit back then. In the 2015/2016 season Jan Vertonghen and his teammates were producing brilliant displays with Tottenham, but the Spurs eventually finished the campaign in third place in the standings.
Speaking of his international career, Vertonghen made it to both World Cup (2014) and Euro (2016) quarter-finals with the Belgian national team. Jan was born on 24 April, 1987 and his shirt number is 5.
Highlighted Team (Santa Clara):
Santa Clara are a professional football club that compete in the Portuguese Primeira Liga. Os Acoreanos (The Azoreans) play their home games at Estadio de Sao Miguel, the venue which can hold up to 13,277 people.
Estadio de Sao Miguel was built in 1930. Santa Clara are the only team from the Azores Islands to compete in the Primeira Liga. Os Acoreanos are well known for its close connection with famoust Portuguese club Benfica, with the two teams sharing the very same crest until recently.
Santa Clara wear red shirts and white shorts when playing at home ground, whilst white is the dominant colour of their away kit. Os Acoreanos participated in the Intertoto Cup in the 2002/2003 season, with the team beating FC Shirak in round 1 5-3 on aggregate, while suffering a loss to Teplice 2-9 on agg. in round 2. CD Operario from Lagao are considered Santa Clara’s fiercest rivals.
