Maritimo vs Benfica Lisbon Prediction & Betting Tips - Liga Portugal

Prediction published on 26/06/2020, 07:01  by James | Modified on 26/06/2020 at 08:01 in Liga Portugal Predictions

Benfica will be desperate to bounce back from a rotten result when they travel to Maritimo in Liga NOS action on Monday. The reigning champions are in serious danger of missing out on a second successive championship due to a terrible run of form. Second in the table, three points behind leaders Porto, Benfica have failed to win six of their last seven matches in all competitions. Maritimo are 16th in the table, four points clear of relegation and hoping to spring a shock against the division's heavyweight side. Maritimo have also failed to win six of their last seven matches, their position in the table matching such a run of results. However, whereas Benfica drew five of those seven, Maritimo lost five. Benfica have two of the league's top scorers at their disposal in Carlos Vinicius (17) and Pizzi (15) but have struggled to kill off teams, failing to score more than once in three of those seven games. On their most recent outing, it was Benfica's defence that let them down as they let a 3-2 lead over Santa Clara slip with eight minutes to go, falling to a famous 4-3 defeat last weekend. Confidence is shaky and right now, Benfica are their own worst enemy.

Composure may be regained against Maritimo though. Benfica have a brilliant record against the strugglers, winning five of their last six meetings. Three of the last four victories Benfica recorded over Maritimo were achieved by a minimum four-goal margin. No team in the Portuguese top flight has performed better on the road this season than Benfica (11-2-1) yet Maritimo would be in the top half of the table if it were based on home form alone (4-6-4), so this is no foregone conclusion. The source of Benfica's troubles in recent months has been a leaky defence and we expect organising that to be a top priority for Bruno Lage. Maritimo have failed to score in five of their last six matches against Benfica. We suggest backing the visitors to win with a clean sheet.