Benfica take on the visitors Boavista in the round 18 match of Liga Portugal. The match will be played on Friday, January 19th at Estádio da Luz (Lisbon).
Benfica currently occupies the second position in the Portuguese championship table, trailing Sporting by just one point. However, whether Benfica's goalkeeper will keep a clean sheet remains a big question. Yes, in 9 out of 17 league matches, Lisbon's team managed not to concede. For a while, they did not allow opponents to upset them at home. However, lately, they have almost consistently allowed one goal in their home games. In the last five home matches, the Eagles twice shared points with their opponents, drawing 1-1 against Casa Pia and Farense, respectively. They also defeated Sporting and Rio Ave but not without conceding goals, with scores of 2-1 and 4-1, respectively.
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It is not excluded that Boavista might concede a few goals from the renowned Benfica, similar to Rio Ave in the previous round, for instance. However, a goal from the Chessmen are also quite plausible, why not? We remember how impressively they started the current season, earning 13 points out of 15 possible in the first five rounds. Admittedly, there was a predictable decline afterward, and currently, the team is only ninth in the table. Still, on average, they score more than one goal per game and have left the field without a precise shot at the opponent's goal only four times in the 17 league rounds. In their last five league matches, the Panthers both won (4-1 against Vizela) and lost (0-1 to Gil Vicente) while also securing draws (1-1 against Porto and 1-1 against Vitoria Guimaraes).
In the 17 league matches, the Chessmen scored 26 goals. The attacking leaders of Boavista, Portuguese Morais and Slovak Bozenik, who have scored exactly half of the team's total goals, are in good form. There are almost no doubts about Benfica's victory in this match. However, there are doubts about whether the hosts will keep a clean sheet. In the current season, the Eagles have already faced the Panthers, albeit away from home. In that lively match with dismissals, Boavista prevailed over the opponent (3-2), with the aforementioned Bozenik scoring a brace. In the last encounter at Benfica's stadium, the Chessmen also scored, although they lost 1-3. Bookmakers offer odds higher than 2.0 for a goal in the favorite's net. I think it's worth taking the risk at such odds and believing in an away goal.
Prediction for the match: Boavista to score – yes.
