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Benfica will welcome Maritimo to the Estadio da Luz on Monday for a matchday 25 fixture in the Portuguese Primeira Liga.
The hosts come into this clash on the back of a morale-boosting 2-0 victory away to Braga before the international break. Goals from Rafa Silva and Haris Seferovic gave the capital side all three points.
Maritimo suffered a debilitating 4-0 defeat at home to Famalicao. A brace each from Anderson Silva and Ivo Rodrigues helped the visitors pick up a massive victory.
That defeat was detrimental to Maritimo's survival hopes and they remain rooted to the bottom of the table. Benfica's victory saw them usurp Braga into third in the standings, 13 points behind city rivals and runaway leaders Sporting Lisbon.
Benfica vs Maritimo Head-to-Head
The sides have met on 50 occasions in the past and Benfica unsurprisingly have a much better record.
The Eagles were victorious on 35 previous occasions, while Maritimo have seven wins. Eight previous games ended in stalemates.
Their most recent meeting came on 30 November 2020 when goals from Pizzi and Everton helped Benfica to a 2-1 comeback victory.
The capital side have been in fine form of late, with five consecutive victories registered in all competitions. Maritimo have just one win from their last 11 league fixtures.
Benfica form guide (all competitions): W-W-W-W-W
Maritimo form guide: L-W-L-D-L
Benfica vs Maritimo Team News
Benfica
The home side have defender Andre Almeida ruled out with a knee injury. Other than that, it is a clean bill of health for manager Jorge Jesus.
There are also no suspension concerns for Benfica.
Injury: Andre Almeida
Suspension: None
Maritimo
Maritimo have no suspension or injury concerns to worry about ahead of the trip to the capital.
Injury: None
Suspension: None
Benfica vs Maritimo Predicted XI
Benfica Predicted XI (4-4-2): Odysseas Vlachodimos; Alex Grimaldo, Nicolas Otamendi, Jan Vertonghen, Gilberto Junior; Rafa Silva, Adel Taarabt, Julian Weigl, Pizzi; Gian Luca Waldschmidt, Haris Seferovic
Maritimo Predicted XI (5-4-1): Amir Abedzadeh (GK); Marcelo Hermes, Leo Andrade, Zainadine Junior, Jean Cleber, Claudio Winck; Rodrigo Pinho, Rafik Guitane, Franck-Yves Bambock, Felicio Milson; Joel Tagueu
Benfica vs Maritimo Prediction
Benfica seem to have banished the ghost of inconsistency. They are now among the most in-form teams in the league as they seek to end the season on a high.
At this rate, only a handful of teams can match the 37-time champions domestically. We are predicting a comfortable victory for Benfica, with Maritimo's tame attack likely to be kept in check.
Prediction: Benfica 3-0 Maritimo
