:Headline: Preview: Benfica vs. Braga - prediction, team news, lineups:
Sports Mole previews Saturday's Primeira Liga clash between Benfica and Braga, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Benfica will be looking to move within four points of Sporting Lisbon at the top of the Primeira Liga table when they welcome Braga to the Estadio da Luz on Saturday.
Having lost each of their last three encounters, Os Arcebispos will head into the weekend seeking to get one over the home side and potentially leapfrog Porto to third place.
Match preview
Benfica returned to winning ways in style as they cruised to a comfortable 3-1 victory over Farense when the sides squared off at the Estadio de São Luis last Monday.
Orkun Kokcu and Arthur Cabral scored on either side of Mohamed Belloumi's 23rd-minute equaliser to hand the visitors a first-half lead before Alvaro Carreras added a third to cap off an impressive team display.
Prior to that, Roger Schmidt's men suffered a quarter-final exit from the Europa League as they were beaten on penalties by Marseille after the French outfit overturned a 2-1 first-leg deficit.
After two goals on the road, Benfica now returns to the Estadio da Luz, where they have won each of their last nine league games since December's 1-1 draw with Farense are unbeaten in 10 straight outings across all competitions since the start of February.
With 73 points from 30 matches, Benfica are currently second in the Primeira Liga standings and must avoid any slip-ups in their final four games if they hope to retain the league crown as they sit seven points behind first-placed Sporting Lisbon.
Braga, on the other hand, turned in a resilient team performance last weekend as they fought back from behind to secure a 2-1 victory over Vizela at the Estadio Braga Municipal.
With nothing to separate the sides at half time, the visitors drew first blood within four minutes of the restart, with Samuel Essende netting his 14th goal of the season, but Rodrigo Zalazar scored a brace to turn the game on its head.
Braga have now gone unbeaten in all but one of their last 10 outings across all competitions — claiming eight wins and one draw — with a 3-0 home defeat against Arouca on April 6 being the exception.
This fine run of results has put Artur Jorge's men on course to clinch the Europa League ticket as they sit fourth in the Primeira Liga table, level on 62 points with third-placed Porto in the qualification spot.
However, Braga must see off the challenge of a rampant Benfica side who have won each of their last three encounters, scoring five goals and keeping two clean sheets since losing on penalties in the Taca de Portugal quarter-finals back in February 2023.
Benfica Primeira Liga form:
- W
- W
- W
- L
- W
- W
Benfica form (all competitions):
- D
- L
- W
- W
- L
- W
Braga Primeira Liga form:
- D
- W
- W
- L
- W
- W
Team News
Former Paris Saint-Germain man Juan Bernat has been out of action since picking a muscle injury back in October and the defender will play no part in Saturday's game.
He is joined on As Aguias' injury table by fellow defender Thomas Araujo, who has missed the last two matches after coming off with an ankle injury against Moreirense on April 14.
Braga will have to cope without Spanish forward Abel Ruiz, who is set to serve a one-game suspension after crossing the yellow card threshold with his booking against Vizela last weekend.
Zalazar staked his claim for a starting role with his superb second-half cameo against the Vizelenses and the 24-year-old could be rewarded with a place in the XI.
At the opposite end of the pitch, we expect an unchanged back four of Víctor Gomez, Paulo Oliveira, Sikou Niakate and Cristian Borja, while Joao Moutinho and Vitor Carvalho should also retain their roles in the centre of the park.
Benfica possible starting lineup:
Trubin, Bah, Silva, Otamendi, Carreras; Luis, Kokcu; Di Maria, Mario Gouveia; Cabral
Braga possible starting lineup:
Matheus, Gomez, Oliveira, Niakate, Borja; Moutinho, Carvalho; Djalo, R Horta, Zalazar, Banza
We say: Benfica 3-1 Braga
Given the stakes of the game for both sides, we expect a thrilling affair at Estadio da Luz. While we expect Braga to put up a fight, Benfica are favourites to get the job done on home turf and we are tipping them to claim all three points.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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