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Estrela Amadora
BenficaEstrela Amadora head into this one on the back of four straight defeats, sliding down to 12th in the Primeira Liga table and looking like a side that has completely lost the momentum from a genuinely impressive start to the season. Benfica, by contrast, are flying. Seven wins on the spin across all competitions, top of the Europa League phase table, and an attacking unit that has been absolutely devastating in recent weeks. The gap between these two right now is enormous, and it goes well beyond the league table.
What makes this even tougher for Pepa’s men is the nature of that Benfica attacking threat. Twenty goals in their last seven matches. At least four goals on three separate occasions during that run. Marco Silva has built something genuinely frightening going forward, and Estrela have not kept a clean sheet in any of their last 12 games. That is not a great combination if you are a home fan in Amadora on Sunday evening.
This is the eleventh Primeira Liga meeting between these two Lisbon clubs, and it takes place at Estrela Amadora’s ground in Amadora. Benfica make the short trip across the city fresh off a midweek Europa League victory, so there is a quick turnaround to navigate for Silva’s squad, though the depth they have shown this season suggests rotation will not cost them quality.
Estrela are pretty much as you were from last weekend’s defeat to Moreirense. There are a couple of notable absentees, but Pepa should be able to name a consistent starting group.
Estrela Amadora look set to line up with Linck in goal behind a back four of Scholze, L. Patrick, Lekovic and Davin. Jansson and Serra should sit in midfield, with Marcus, Zvonarek and Stoica operating ahead of them. Antonetti leads the line.
For Benfica, the big question is in goal. Trubin featured on Thursday so Silva may well hand Soares the start here. Outfield, it looks like Bah, Araujo, Circati and Dahl across the back, Sudakov and Palhinha in the middle of the park, with Rafa Silva, Prestianni and Schjelderup providing the creativity behind Pavlidis up top. That is a seriously dangerous attacking line.
Estrela started this season so well that you could have been forgiven for getting genuinely excited about them. Unbeaten in their opening six Primeira Liga fixtures, picking up results against Sporting Lisbon and Braga, they looked like a side that had genuinely found their feet at this level. But the wheels have come off badly since then. Four consecutive league defeats against Academico Viseu, Arouca, Casa Pia and Moreirense have them sitting 12th and five games without a win in the top flight. The only crumb of comfort from the Moreirense loss was Lovro Zvonarek ending a three game goal drought for the club. Even their Taca de Portugal run, which you would expect to offer a breather, nearly turned embarrassing against fourth tier Fazendense before Tom Moustier bailed them out late on.
Benfica are heading in the exact opposite direction. Since a 3-1 league defeat to Porto, they have been almost unstoppable. The Celtic hammering in the Europa League was the moment a lot of people outside Portugal sat up and took notice, but they have been relentless across every competition since. Seven wins in a row, 20 goals scored across those seven games, and they have cut the gap to the league leaders to five points. The 3-1 win over Lech Poznan on Thursday was controlled, professional, with goals from Rafa Silva, Prestianni and Sudakov. This is a squad packed with quality and playing with serious confidence.
Benfica’s league record alone tells you everything. An 80% win rate in the Primeira Liga, 27 goals scored which is more than any other side, and only four teams in the division have conceded fewer than their eight goals against. That balance is rare and it is what makes them such a frightening proposition right now.
Estrela Amadora only won promotion from Liga Portugal 2 in 2022 and they are a genuinely young club, having only been founded a handful of years before that. But in those few years since they reached the top flight, they have faced Benfica regularly. The record is brutal reading for the home side. Nine meetings, nine Benfica victories. Not a single win, not even a draw, for the Tricolours against their city rivals in any of those encounters.
That kind of psychological weight matters. Players and staff know the record. It is not impossible to overturn, but it adds another layer of pressure on a side already low on confidence after four straight defeats. Benfica have been ruthless against Estrela every time they have met, and there is very little in the current form guide to suggest this will be any different.
This fixture sets up almost perfectly for Benfica backers. You have a free scoring visiting side in brilliant form coming up against a home team that cannot keep a clean sheet and has lost four on the bounce. The value is not in the match result outright, where Benfica will be short, but in markets around goals, specific scorelines and individual players to find the net.
Benfica are an aggressive, expansive side that pushes teams back and forces corners through sheer pressure and volume of attack. Estrela defending deep and looking to stay compact will likely concede a lot of set piece situations. Back over ten corners for this one with confidence.
Estrela showed against Moreirense that they can find the net, and with Zvonarek up and running again they carry a threat going forward. At the other end, Benfica will score, almost certainly more than once. BTTS looks a solid call here given Estrela have not been shut out in a dozen games and Benfica are the most prolific attack in the Primeira Liga right now.
Benfica won their midweek Europa League game 3-1 and that scoreline feels like a natural fit here too. Estrela will nick one, they have enough quality to do that even against top opposition, but Benfica’s firepower should see them run out 3-1 winners and extend the winning run to eight games.
Estrela are going to be under sustained pressure for large parts of this game, and when a defensive unit is stretched and chasing the game they tend to pick up bookings through frustration and desperation. Expect at least three cards in total, with the home side most likely to contribute the majority of them as they look to disrupt Benfica’s rhythm through the game.
Vangelis Pavlidis is the standout pick here. Ten goals in ten Primeira Liga appearances is a remarkable return and he is expected to come back into the starting XI after being rested in midweek. He will be fresh, he will be hungry, and he will be facing a defence that has not kept a clean sheet in three months. Back him to open the scoring.
| Market | Selection |
|---|---|
| Both Teams To Score | Yes |
| First Goalscorer | Vangelis Pavlidis |
| Corners | Over 10 |
Pavlidis scoring first fits naturally into a game where Benfica dominate, both teams find the net and the pressure the visitors apply generates corners throughout the ninety minutes.
There are not many games where the form book, the head to head record and the underlying stats all point in exactly the same direction this clearly. Estrela have heart and they will not roll over without a fight, but they are dealing with a genuinely elite Benfica side right now that is scoring goals for fun and has not lost since that Porto defeat weeks ago.
Benfica win this comfortably. Estrela might grab one but Silva’s men have too much quality, too much momentum and too much firepower for the Tricolours to handle. We are calling it 1-3 to Benfica, with Pavlidis the man to watch and the Eagles making it eight wins in a row.
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