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Benfica will invite Braga to the Estádio da Luz in a high-profile Taca de Portugal round of 16 clash on Wednesday.
The hosts booked their place in the round of 16 with a comfortable 2-0 home triumph over Famalicao in the fourth round. They were helped by Riccieli Eduardo da Silva Júnior's own goal in the 72nd minute to take the lead and Rafa Silva scored the decisive goal in the 77th minute.
They have enjoyed a good run of form recently and made it five wins on the spin, defeating Arouca 3-0 in the Primeira Liga on Saturday. Goals from Rafa, Orkun Kökçü, and Petar Musa helped them get 2024 off to a winning start.
The visitors booked a date against the capital club with a 4-1 win over Portimonense in the previous round. Álvaro Djaló opened the scoring while Ricardo Horta bagged a three-minute brace in the second half. Rony Lopes scored their fourth goal late in the match.
They are unbeaten in their last three games and were held to a 1-1 draw by Vitoria Guimaraes in the first match of the year on Saturday.
Benfica vs Braga Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- The two teams have a long-standing rivalry and have squared off 132 times across all competitions. The hosts have dominated proceedings against the visitors with 85 wins in this fixture. The visitors have got the better of the capital club 18 times and 29 games have ended in draws.
- They last met in the Primeira Liga in December, with Benfica registering a 1-0 away win.
- They have crossed paths six times in the Taca de Portugal. Braga have the upper hand in these meetings with a 4-2 lead in wins.
- The visitors have just two wins in their last 12 away meetings against the hosts, suffering nine defeats.
Benfica vs Braga Prediction
As Águias head into the match on a 10-game unbeaten run, recording seven wins. They have scored 22 goals in these games while conceding just times and keeping five clean sheets. They are unbeaten in their last seven home games in all competitions and are strong favorites.
New signing Marcos Leonardo is not yet match fit and is not in contention to start here. Casper Tengstedt is injured, which leaves head coach Roger Schmidt with limited options in attack. Angel Di Maria and Nicolás Otamendi were back from their winter breaks and played in the 3-0 win over Arouca and should retain their place in the starting XI.
Os Arcebispos are unbeaten in their last three games, recording two 3-1 wins in that period. They have won five of their last six away games in all competitions, scoring 14 times while shipping in six goals in that period.
After recording three wins in a row between April 2022 and February 2023 against the capital club, they have suffered back-to-back 1-0 losses in two meetings since. Artur Jorge is without his top-scorer Simon Banza for this crucial match, as the striker has been called up by the DR Congo national team for the 2023 AFCON.
The hosts have the upper hand in the head-to-head record and also head into the match in better form. With that in mind, we back them to eke out a narrow win.
Prediction: Benfica 2-1 Braga
Benfica vs Braga Betting Tips
Tip 1: Result - Benfica to win
Tip 2: Goals - Over/Under 2.5 Goals - Over 2.5 goals
Tip 3: At least a goal to be scored in the second half - Yes
Tip 4: Rafa Silva to score or assist any time - Yes
