Benfica will be welcoming Sporting Lisbon to the Estadio da Luiz for the Lisbon derby on Friday night, in one of the biggest matches in the Primeira Liga fixtures.
Benfica are currently sitting third in the table, one point behind second-placed Sporting, ahead of the upcoming match.
Showcasing a record of 10 victories, one draw and one defeat from 12 league matches this season, Benfica could be understood for their assumption of having topped the league at the moment, but they are currently third, just a point behind leaders Porto, who will travel to face Portimonense.
The Eagles have won three of their last four matches in the league, including an impressive 6-1 home victory over Sporting Braga, while they scored seven goals into Belenenses on Saturday without conceding.
That match was suspended in the early minutes of the second half, with Belenenses having only having six players on the field, having had to start with nine men including two goalkeepers, with coronavirus outbreak in the squad had left them without 17 players.
Benfica will now be fully focused on Friday’s match against Sporting Lisbon, but they are still in a bid to qualify for the knockout round of the Champions League.
They will be hosting Dinamo Kiev next week in need of a victory and hope that Barcelona drops points against Bayern Munich to qualify to the round of 16 in second position.
Sporting Lisbon issued a statement after the Belenenses and Benfica game airing the complaints, so we expect them to be fired up on Friday, looking to register their 11th league victory of the season.
The Green and Whites recorded a 2-0 victory over Tondela in the league late last month, which made it 11 straight wins across all competitions during an impressive run of form.
Benfica vs Sporting Lisbon head to head
The two Portuguese outfits have previously had 67 encounters, where Benfica are leading with 31 victories while Sporting Lisbon have 19, and they have drawn 17. Benfica have scored 97 goals and conceded 73. Benfica have won four of their last five matches while the visitors have won one.
Benfica 5-0 Sporting Lisbon 04/08/19
Sporting Lisbon 0-2 Benfica 18/01/20
Benfica 2-1 Sporting Lisbon 25/07/20
Sporting Lisbon 1-0 Benfica 02/02/21
Benfica 4-3 Sporting Lisbon 15/05/21
Benfica latest home form
Benfica have recently finished with a good form in their last two matches at home, recording a 6-1 victory over Sporting Braga before finishing with a 4-1 success over Pacos Ferreira in the Taca de Portugal. However, they had lost twice prior to that in the league and Champions League.
Benfica 3-0 Barcelona 29/09/21
Benfica 0-1 Portimonense 03/10/21
Benfica 0-4 Bayern Munich 20/10/21
Benfica 6-1 Sporting Braga 08/11/21
Benfica 4-1 Pacos Ferreira 19/11/21
Benfica latest away form
With a controversial 7-0 victory away over Belenenses, Benfica have still been on good form on the road. They have lost just one out of their last ten away matches. In their last five fixtures, they have won one, drawn three and lost one, a 5-2 loss to Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
Vitoria Guimaraes 3-3 Benfica 27/10/21
Estoril 1-1 Benfica 30/10/21
Bayern Munich 5-2 Benfica 02/11/21
Barcelona 0-0 Benfica 23/11/21
Belenenses 0-7 Benfica 27/11/21
Sporting Lisbon latest home form
The Green and Whites have recently had a very strong form at home. They have won all their 8 most recent matches across all competitions, with their last loss at home being on September 15th where they lost 5-1 to Ajax in the Champions League. In their last five, they have scored 12 and conceded 4.
Sporting Lisbon 1-0 Vitoria Guimaraes 30/10/21
Sporting Lisbon 4-0 Besiktas 03/11/21
Sporting Lisbon 2-1 Varzim 18/11/21
Sporting Lisbon 3-1 Borussia Dortmund 24/11/21
Sporting Lisbon 2-0 Tondela 28/11/21
Sporting Lisbon latest away form
Despite having lost narrowly 1-0 to Borussia Dortmund in September in The Champions League, Sporting Lisbon bounced back strong and recorded victories in their last four away matches. In the four, they won two in the Primeira Liga, one in the Taca de Portugal and one in the Champions League.
Borussia Dortmund 1-0 Sporting Lisbon 28/09/21
Arouca 1-2 Sporting Lisbon 02/10/21
CF Os Belenenses 0-4 Sporting Lisbon 15/10/21
Besiktas 1-4 Sporting Lisbon 19/10/21
Pacos Ferreira 0-2 Sporting Lisbon 07/11/21
Benfica news
Benfica are likely to maintain their 3-4-3 formation but there could be an alteration in the final third of the field, which would see Darwin Nunez move into the midfield.
They will be without Rodrigo Pinho, Diogo Goncalves, Lucas Verissimo and Nemanja Radonjic for Friday’s match.
Sporting Lisbon news
They will be missing Joao Palhinha, Ruben Vinagre, Jovane Cabral and Sebastian Coates, with Coates having tested positive for coronavirus, which will allow Zouhair Feddal to feature in back three.
Palhinha’s absence would allow Daniel Braganca to feature in the mid, with Matheus Reis and Pedro Porro returning in startin XI.
Prediction and Odds
Being without Coates and Palhinha could prove it challenging for Sporting Lisbon considering their importance, but they will still hope to pick up a positive result.
This is likely a match of possibilty where victory could be on home or away side, but we see Sporting settling for an away draw.
Odds: 1 2.21 X 3.01 2 2.35
Probable outcomes
Benfica 0-0 Sporting Lisbon
Benfica 1-1 Sporting Lisbon
Benfica 2-2 Sporting Lisbon
Benfica 2-1 Sporting Lisbon
Benfica 1-2 Sporting Lisbon
