Things did not look very promising for Benfica on Monday night as they looked confused in the first 45 minutes against Sporting in the Lisbon Derby. Going into the match, regardless of the current form of both sides, a derby match is always difficult to predict as it brings a whole new meaning to the match.
After going down a goal and heading into halftime, Benfica came out firing in the second half. A stellar second 45 showed a bit of Benfica’s strengths, but it also showed how difficult life is at the Estadio Jose de Alvalade.
A victory against the same city rivals will have the Benfica players and coaching staff on cloud nine, especially after looking very poor in the first half. The Aguias will now turn their attention to a Maritimo side that finds themselves in eighth place with 13 points in the Portuguese League.
Maritimo head coach Pedro Martins is aware of what he can expect on Saturday, but he also believes that this Benfica side is stronger than last season.
“It will be a tough match as Benfica is very strong right now,” he said. “Despite a number of players leaving, Jorge Jesus did well to fill those voids. Benfica has a specific confidence to their game and they are very strong on their transitions from defense to attack.”
Previous Matches
04-21-12 Benfica 4-1 Maritimo
12-11-11 Maritimo 0-1 Benfica
02-05-12 Benfica 3-0 Maritimo (League Cup)
02-02-11 Maritimo 2-1 Benfica (Portuguese Cup)
01-02-11 Benfica 2-0 Maritimo (League Cup)
02-27-11 Benfica 2-1 Maritimo
Prediction
Both teams enter this match on two completely different runs of form. Benfica has yet to lose a match in the domestic league, while Maritimo has four losses already. Benfica has four victories at home with one draw in the mix which was in the first game of the season against Braga when they drew 2-2.
Since then, Benfica has managed four straight victories at the Estadio da Luz outscoring opponents 10 to 1. Not a bad stat to have going into yet another home game.Playing away from home isn’t Maritimo’s favorite considering their negative five goal difference away from the Estadio dos Barreiros. Their last away game didn’t go so bad as they drew 2-2 against fifth place Pacos de Ferreira, but the one game that really stands out is their 5-0 defeat to Porto at the Estadio do Dragao.
Looking at the previous matches between these two, Maritimo would be extremely fortunate to leave Lisbon with the full three points. In their 40 previous matches in the nations capital, Benfica has won 34 with Maritimo winning just one. That lone victory for Maritimo came back in 1987 when they defeated the Aguias 0-1.
Expect Benfica to come out in good spirits after their last victory just down the road from their stadium, wanting to finish off the year strong. This will be their last league match before the new year, so the players will be wanting to leave it all on the field, allowing them to go into the holiday break on a good note. Expect Oscar Cardozo to get another goal or two as he looks to continue his incredible goal scoring form.
Benfica 3-0 Maritimo
