Benfica will host AVS in the Taca da Liga on Thursday. The hosts are strong favorites to advance because they would need to beat Benfica by two goals or more to move up to the top of the table.
Preview (Benfica vs. AVS)
After a fantastic week for Benfica manager Roger Schmidt, there should be more optimism. Benfica secured another impressive away win this past weekend, this time against Braga. It temporarily put them atop the Primeira Liga after they upset Red Bull Salzburg in the Champions League. Arthur Cabral’s goal in the final minute proved to be the difference as Benfica defeated Salzburg 3-1 in Austria. They secured a spot in the Europa League despite having only picked up one point from their first five games.
After a thrilling 1-0 victory away to Braga, where Benfica undoubtedly rode their luck but resolutely hung on despite a barrage from the hosts, they went top ahead of Sporting Lisbon’s victory against Porto on Monday. Benfica will be in second place on Christmas Day, one point ahead of rival Sporting. None of the top four teams are playing in the league this weekend. Schmidt’s team has the opportunity to get back to the top. They take on Famalicao before the league leaders visit Portimonense. But today, with a 2-0 victory over Arouca in this three-team division, the focus will shift to the Taca da Liga, where advancement is all but guaranteed.
Schmidt is determined to make sure there are no mistakes of the same nature on this final matchday after being caught off guard by Moreirense and eliminated at this stage last season—the third time it has occurred in six seasons. Between 2008 and 2016, Benfica won this title seven times in eight seasons. Since then, they have not won it; their closest appearance was in the final in 2022. The youngest professional club in Portugal is the team that could prevent them from moving on to the next round. They took Vilafranquense’s place in the second division.
Team News
Schmidt will probably rotate his Benfica team here even though there isn’t a match this weekend to give some of his senior players a week’s rest and keep them healthy. Along with goalie Anatolii Trubin, who may be replaced by Samuel Soares, Angel Di Maria, Rafael Silva, and Joao Mario are among the players who are probably going to have a rest. Cabral is expecting teenage player Tomas Araujo and new addition David Jurasek to start at the back. Regarding injuries, the hosts are now without David Neres, Juan Bernat, and Alexander Bah.
AVS is playing excellent league football and has kept a large portion of the team from Vilafranquense last season. The forty-year-old Nene has scored in each of their first three victories in December, contributing significantly to the assault. However, manager Jorge Costa has rotated a lot in the cup this season; for example, he had nearly a new starting lineup for the match against Arouca. As a result, players like Nene might miss this one.
Benfica 2-0 AVS
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