Our prediction for this Portugal Primeira Liga match:
After surviving newcomers Estrela in round 2, Benfica will look to keep on climbing the standings when they face Gil Vicente on Saturday evening. The Eagles quickly bounced back from a 3-2 loss to Boavista and, no doubt, the hard-fought triumph over Estrela gave them a confidence boost. Croatia forward Petar Musa is back from suspension, while midfielder David Jurasek has yet to recover from an ankle problem.
Os Galos, on the other hand, failed to impress in a 2-1 loss to Vitoria Guimaraes, which is yet another reason why we are going to bet on the reigning champions. In their last meeting at the venue Benfica defeated Gil Vicente 2-0 and we predict that history is going to repeat itself. There are no fresh injury concerns in the home team ahead of the visit of Roger Schmidt’s troops. Talented midfielder Martim Neto is pushing for a start.
Highlighted Team (Benfica):
Member of the ‘Big Three’ clubs in Portugal alongside FC Porto and CP Sporting, Sport Lisboa e Benfica are the football club that has never been relegated from the Primeira Liga. The club is nicknamed Aguias because of the Eagle symbol atop the club’s crest. Benfica play their home games at the Estadio da Luz which replaced the original one in 2003 and which boasts the capacity of more than 64,000. Arguably the most successful club in Portugal, Benfica have won a record of 35 Primeira Liga titles and also a record 25 Taca de Liga and 7 Taca da Liga trophies.
Two-time European Cup winners, Benfica are the club known for their diligent work with youth players, many of which went on to make great careers abroad. The most prominent players to wear a Benfica shirt are legendary Eusebio, Manuel Bento, Jorge Tavares and most recently Javier Saviola, Nuno Gomes, David Luiz and Angel Di Maria.