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Farense will entertain Benfica at the Estádio de São Luís in the Portuguese Primeira Liga on Monday.
The hosts are unbeaten in their last two league outings and were held to a 1-1 away draw at Vitoria Guimaraes. Bruno Duarte scored in the ninth minute against his former club and Jorge Fernandes equalized for Vitoria in the sixth minute of injury time.
The visitors lost 2-1 to league leaders Sporting Lisbon in a top-of-the-table clash earlier this month and bounced back with a 3-0 home win last week. Orkun Kökçü and Tomás Araújo scored in the first half while Benjamín Rollheiser scored the third goal in the 78th minute.
They met Marseille in the UEFA Europa League quarter-final second leg on Thursday, suffering a 1-0 loss and giving away a one-goal advantage from the first leg. The scores ended 2-2 on aggregate and Marseille came out victorious in the shootout, recording a 4-2 win.
With five games left to play, the reigning champions are trailing local rivals Sporting by seven points and will need to win all of their remaining matches if they are to retain their title.
Farense vs Benfica Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- The two teams have crossed paths 50 times in all competitions thus far, including one friendly. As expected, the visitors have been the dominant side in these meetings with 33 wins. The hosts have got the better of the capital club six times and 11 games have ended in draws.
- The hosts have just one win in their last 11 league outings while suffering six losses.
- Benfica are unbeaten in their last 10 meetings against Farense and the reverse fixture in December ended in a 1-1 draw.
- All three of the visitors' defeats in the Primeira Liga this term have come on their travels.
Farense vs Benfica Prediction
Leões de Faro have seen an upturn in form recently and are unbeaten in their last two games after going winless in their previous nine games. Interestingly, they have just one win in their last five home games and have failed to score in three of their last four home meetings against the visitors.
Goalkeeper Luiz Felipe is unavailable due to an injury while head coach José Mota will also be without the services of midfielder Mattheus Oliveira and top scorer Bruno Duarte, as the duo are suspended due to yellow card accumulation.
As Águias have been inconsistent in their recent games, with two wins and losses apiece in their last four games. They have just two wins in their last eight away games in all competitions while suffering four losses and will look to improve upon that record.
Tomás Araújo is the only absentee for the visitors and head coach Roger Schmidt will look to make a few changes to the starting XI from their 1-0 loss to Marseille on Thursday.
Considering the visitors' dominance in the head-to-head record and their better goalscoring record, Benfica should be able to register a comfortable win.
Prediction: Farense 1-3 Benfica
Farense vs Benfica Betting Tips
Tip 1: Result - Benfica to win
Tip 2: Goals - Over/Under 2.5 Goals - Over 2.5 goals
Tip 3: At least one goal to be scored in the second half - Yes
Tip 4: Ángel Di María to score or assist any time - Yes
