On Wednesday night, two teams with plenty to play for in the Primeira Liga meet, as Portimonense host Benfica at the Estadio Municipal de Portimao, in a massive game at both ends of the table.
The home side is in desperate need of a victory in the relegation battle. They looked set to go down to the Segunda Liga without much of a fight, as before a 1-0 home win over Gil Vicente last time out they had failed to win in 12 Primeira Liga matches.
The win will give the Portimao-based outfit a belief that they can still survive the drop. Paulo Sergio’s team still has work to do to get out of the bottom two though, as they are six points adrift of Pacos de Ferreira and Maritimo who occupy the positions above them.
Portimonense have at least been hard to beat on home soil of late, as they have suffered just one home defeat in their last eight league outings. The problem is that five of those eight matches have finished in draws.
Benfica are somehow back at the top of the table despite stuttering form of late in the Primeira Liga.
However, the Eagles are only above second-place Porto courtesy of superior goal difference.
A 0-0 home draw against Tondela means that the visitors are four games unbeaten in top-flight, but Bruno Lage’s team have now drawn their last three matches in the Portuguese top-flight.
Benfica have been a formidable opponent on their travels of late in the Primeira Liga, as they have won 19 of their last 21 games on the road. They have won just one of their last three away matches in the league, though.
⚽ Today's training!#PSCSLB #WeAreBenfica pic.twitter.com/SwQOqehqal— SL Benfica (@slbenfica_en) June 8, 2020
⚽ Today's training!#PSCSLB #WeAreBenfica pic.twitter.com/SwQOqehqal
Forebet predicts that the visitors will boost their title chances while denting the home sides survival chances in the process.