BENFICA v BELENENSES
Primeira Liga
Monday 11th March 2019
Kickoff: 2015hrs
Pick: Belenenses AH+2.25
Bookmaker: Bet Victor
Odds: 1.77 (odds taken at 00:15 GMT, 11 Mar 2019)
There’s just the one match being played in the Portuguese top flight on Monday night but one that concerns the top of the division when 2nd placed Benfica play host to 7th placed Belenenses as the betting tips continue at the Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica in Lisbon, with the hosts having an opportunity to go top of the league.
Primeira Liga Betting at Bet Victor
Benfica Prediction
Benfica sit in 2nd spot and just one point behind league leaders Porto ahead of their Monday night clash with Belenenses, so all three points here would see the hosts move top of the Primeira Liga and also the automatic Champions League spot too.
Benfica’s recent impressive sequence of results which saw the hosts put together a nine-match unbeaten run in all competitions came to an abrupt halt during last week when they were beaten 1-0 away from home at Dinamo Zagreb in the first leg of their round of 16 Europa League tie in Croatia.
Benfica will therefore need to pull out all the stops this Thursday evening when they return to home turf for the 2nd leg of the tie, and the importance of this upcoming fixture with Dinamo Zagreb needs to be factored into this Monday night match against Belenenses.
Benfica have been mostly dominant of all-comers to their home ground in the domestic top flight so far this season which is reflected by their impressive home record of 9-1-1 41/11, with their one defeat being a surprise 3-1 loss to 5th placed Moreirense. The hosts have won by 3+ clear goals in 5 of their 11 home matches, but only one of these have been against top half opposition (Sporting Braga 6-2)
- Benfica have won 9 of their 11 home matches to date in the Primeira Liga
- Benfica have won by 3+ goals against top half opposition just once this season
- Belenenses have won their last 2 matches on the trot in the Primeira Liga
Belenenses Prediction
Belenenses sit in 7th place and actually possess a better away record than the one they hold at their Estádio Nacional, as they make their way over to Lisbon to face 2nd placed Benfica and looking to put a spanner in the works of the host’s title winning aspirations.
Following a run of five matches without a win in the Primeira Liga which included defeats to Porto, Moreirense and Maritimo, the visitors have since recorded back-to-back wins in the Portuguese top flight with victories over Sporting Braga and Feirense, winning 2-0 and 4-0 respectively.
Belenenses are expected to be in confident mood then, as they prepare to take on Benfica, and with a fairly solid looking away record of 4-6-2 12/11 under their belts on their travels so far this season, they won’t be fazed by their opposition in this clash I fancy.
Belenenses also beat Benfica in the last encounter, so they’ll be confident ahead of this clash too.
Betting Tips Verdict
Benfica are expected to run out winners here, but if they do win, the margin of victory may well be lower than previous wins against Belenenses as we need to factor in the upcoming Europa League tie for the hosts too.
