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Boavista will invite Benfica to the Estádio do Bessa in their upcoming Portuguese Primeira Liga fixture on Saturday.
Benfica's previous league fixture was postponed due to their UEFA Champions League playoff game against Dynamo Kyiv. They have a perfect record in the league with two wins and two clean sheets, and they will be looking to extend that positive run when they travel to Porto on Saturday.
Boavista kicked off their campaign with back-to-back wins but suffered a shock 2-0 defeat at Casa Pia last week. They are in sixth place in the standings with six points to their name.
Benfica continued their 100% record across all competitions as they defeated Dynamo Kyiv 3-0 in the home leg of the playoffs on Wednesday, securing a berth in the Champions League group stage with a 5-0 win on aggregate.
In their previous league outing, they secured a hard-fought away win at Casa Pia, with in-form striker Goncalo Ramos scoring the winning goal in the 58th minute.
Boavista vs Benfica Head-to-Head
The two teams have locked horns 100 times across all competitions. With wins in more than half of these meetings, Benfica have been the dominant side against Boavista.
The capital club enjoy a 52-19 lead in wins while 29 games have ended in draws. They met thrice last season, twice in the league and once in the Taca de Liga semi-final.
Benfica recorded two wins while Boavista were able to hold the Lisbon giants to a 2-2 draw in a league game at Saturday's venue in February.
Boavista form guide (all competitions): L-W-W
Benfica form guide (all competitions): W-W-W-W-W
Boavista vs Benfica Team News
Boavista
Yusupha is set to undergo surgery for a cheekbone fracture and will be out of action for a couple of weeks. Miguel Reisinho is a long-term absentee with a knee injury, while Ricardo Mangas and Luís Santos missed their previous game against Casa Pia and their involvement remains doubtful.
Injured: Yusupha, Miguel Reisinho
Doubtful: Ricardo Mangas, Luís Santos
Suspended: None.
Unavailable: None.
Benfica
Lucas Veríssimo and João Victor remain the two players on the injury list for As Águias, as they have not fully recovered from their respective ailments. Goncalo Ramos was involved in an on-field collision with Rafa Silva against Dynamo, suffering injuries to the face. He will undergo a late fitness test ahead of the the trip to Porto.
Nicolás Otamendi was red-carded in the previous league game and will serve a suspension.
Injured: Lucas Veríssimo
Doubtful: João Victor, Goncalo Ramos
Suspended: Nicolás Otamendi
Unavailable: None
Boavista vs Benfica Predicted XIs
Boavista (3-4-3): Rafael Bracali; Reggie Cannon, Vincent Sasso, Rodrigo Abascal; Pedro Malheiro, Sebastian Perez, Gauis Makouta, Filipe Ferreira; Róbert Boženík, Kenji Gorre, Salvador Agra
Benfica (4-2-3-1): Odysseas Vlachodimos; Andre Almeida, Morato, Jan Vertonghen, Gilberto; Enzo Fernández, Florentino; David Neres, Rafa Silva, Chiquinho; Roman Yaremchuk.
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Boavista vs Benfica Prediction
Os Axadrezados are undefeated in their last two home games against Benfica and picked up a 3-0 win in 2020. Nonetheless, the visitors are in red-hot form at the moment and should be able to eke out a comfortable win in this game.
Prediction: Boavista 0-2 Benfica
