Benfica's campaign continues in fine fashion as the Lisbon side sealed the deal in Bordeaux on Thursday night with a 2-3 victory. Two goals from Oscar Cardozo led Benfica into the quarter-finals of this season's Europa League.
In the next round, Benfica will meet Alan Pardew's Newcastle, but before they can focus on that match, Benfica will try to keep their top spot in the Portuguese League.
A trip away to Guimaraes is generally not an easy place to play. From the passionate fans to the elevated tempers on the pitch, this match almost always is highly entertaining.
Benfica's president, Luis Filipe Vieira, has stated publicly that his side is looking to be successful in every possible competition, with a victory on Sunday being another big step towards reclaiming the Portuguese Title.
"We will take things day by day," Vieira told reporters after Benfica's thrilling 2-3 victory against Bordeaux.
"The next match is always the most important. We never know what is going to happen. We will see when we reach the end. We want to win everything possible, so what ever there is to win, we want to win it."
Wanting to win is nothing new for Benfica's Jorge Jesus who hit a milestone on Thursday, having earned his 140th victory with Benfica, in a total of 200 matches. With 140 victories with the Lisbon side, Jesus is now third on the list when it comes to managers with the most victories with Benfica.
Getting his 141st will be something he will be looking forward to on Sunday, but Rui Vitoria believes his side is prepared to do everything to win.
"Benfica is a strong opponent and they are currently going through a very good phase," said the V. Guimaraes manager.
"Proof of that is the fact that they have only lost two or three matches in their last 40, which clearly shows how good they are. We are going to take on a Ferrari, which has made some changes to make itself even better, where as we are an average car which is still getting put together."
"We are aware of the differences between the two sides. Benfica has experience, maturity and quality, but we have our determination and fully confident of what we can accomplish."
Guimaraes has lost four of their last six meetings with Benfica, with three of those meetings at the Estadio da Luz.
Previous Meetings
11-03-12 Benfica 3-0 V. Guimaraes
02-20-12 V. Guimaraes 1-0 Benfica
01-03-12 V. Guimaraes 1-4 Benfica (League Cup)
09-10-11 Benfica 2-1 V. Guimaraes
02-13-11 Benfica 3-0 V. Guimaraes
09-10-10 V. Guimaraes 2-1 Benfica
Prediction
Guimaraes has only managed to beat one team that is currently ahead of them in the league standings, and that was Rio Ave. The Minhotos defeated the Vila Condenses on January 20th by a 1-3 score line, but every other match with the teams above them have not been all that impressive.
Two matches against Porto ended in a 4-0 defeat at home and at the Estadio do Dragao, while their visit to the Estadio da Luz in November ended in a 3-0 loss. That is a -11 goal difference against the top two teams in the Portuguese League, so even scoring a goal on Sunday will be somewhat of an improvement for the hosts.
From 10 matches at home, Guimaraes has four victories, three draws and three defeats. Those three victories came against 11th placed V. Setubal, 14th placed Olhanense, 15th placed Moreirense and 12th placed Academica.
It is more than obvious that Guimaraes has had its troubles with the higher caliber teams, but when Benfica comes to town, it should likely be a heated affair.
Wanting to be the first team to hand them their first loss would not only be great from a media standpoint, but it would also give the players some added motivation that they may have been lacking against some of the better sides.
Benfica is averaging 2.4 goals per match away from home, while they are conceding 0.73 goals on the road. Those numbers will not look very good for the Guimaraes players who are barely averaging one goal per game in their own stadium.
A free flowing and high flying offense up against a Guimaraes side that has not been able to establish themselves against the bigger sides will certainly make for a high tempo match.
Look for Benfica to come out full of confidence after their victory on Thursday, but the Guimaraes players will also be up for this match knowing that they could be the team that hands Benfica their first loss in the current campaign.
V. Guimaraes 1-3 Benfica
