SL Benfica vs CD Santa Clara: Preview, Odds, Form Guide and Players to Watch (September 12) | OneFootball

Benfica will be aiming to work their way back to the top of the table when they take on Santa Clara on Friday night at the Estádio da Luz. After securing their place in the UEFA Champions League 36-team league stage, manager Bruno Lage will now turn his attention to the Primeira Liga, a competition that Benfica haven’t been able to conquer since 2023. Following a 2-1 away win at Alverca in the previous round, the Eagles will look to continue their perfect start to the 2025-26 campaign, and make it 12 points from their first four matches.

Standing in the way of Benfica and a place atop the league table is a talented and hungry Santa Clara side that showed glimpses of brilliance last season. Vasco Matos’ team are well organised on the defensive end, and are more than capable of pulling off the occasional upset. Although they have been inconsistent to start the 2025-26 campaign, a 1-0 victory against Estoril Praia last weekend gave the Azores side their first league win and should instil some confidence in this young group.

Preview

The last time these two sides met in the league at the Estádio da Luz, Benfica cruised to a 4-1 victory with Kerem Aktürkoğlu, Florentino Luís, António Silva and Ángel Di María all getting on the scoresheet that night. This, however, is a very different Benfica side. Three of those four scorers have now left the club. Orkun Kökçü, Arthur Cabral and Álvaro Carreras were some of the other high-profile names that moved on this summer, forcing Lage to turn to a new crop of players.

Going into the season, there were questions concerning the new-look midfield partnership of Richard Ríos and Enzo Barrenechea. The South American combo was thrown into the two central midfield roles but have been fantastic over the early stretch, collaborating well in the centre of the park. Rios was arguably the team’s best performer during their CL clash against Fenerbahçe. He is strong, physical and technically gifted, and the 25-year-old could turn out to be one of the league’s most complete midfielders by the end of the season.

Franjo Ivanović is another highly rated player the club have high hopes for. The newly signed striker already has two goals to his name over seven appearances, and could be a key figure as Benfica look to challenge on multiple fronts.

Former RB Salzburg full-back Amar Dedic has also fit into the starting 11 well, producing some stellar displays. Unfortunately, Benfica will be without the right-back after he picked up a red card in his last outing against Alverca.

Benfica are off to a strong start in the league with early wins over Estrela Amadora, Tondela and Alverca and have scored six goals along the way. Santa Clara, though, will likely provide their first real test in the league.

Lage’s side have been constructed on a sturdy defense, with Argentinian world cup winner Nicolás Otamendi leading the line. He will likely be accompanied by one of Portugal’s brightest young talents, Antonio Silva, who has been one of the team’s in-form players. Over eight matches this season in three different competitions, Benfica have conceded just one goal so far.

It has been a shaky start to the campaign for Santa Clara. The islanders have already gone through a gruelling fixture list, competing in 10 total matches in the Conference League qualifiers and the Primera Liga. Santa Clara were knocked out of the Conference League by Shamrock Rovers last month, and will now look to climb back up the table with a tricky run of games that includes Benfica, Alverca and Tondela over the coming weeks.

The one positive for the visitors is that they are coming off a solid performance against Estoril last weekend. Santa Clara manager Matos threw his hands up in the air in delight (and possibly some relief) and embraced his coaching staff the moment the referee blew the full-time whistle at the Estadio António Coimbra da Mota on Saturday. The 1-0 victory came at a crucial stage for the manager, who, after a remarkable fifth-place finish last season, has managed just four points in his first four league games this season.

Santa Clara have no major injury concerns going into Friday’s game, but they were one of only two Portuguese clubs that were not afforded an interval for the international break as the league scheduled a weekend match for them on Saturday. That may be a factor as they prepare to face a well-rested Benfica side.

Last season, Santa Clara were one of the top defensive teams outside of the top three, and Matos will be hoping his back line can keep his side in the match. A 3-0 opening day defeat to FC Famalicão was disappointing, but since then, Santa Clara have conceded just  one goal in their last three league matches.

Odds:

Benfica 1.25 Santa Clara 11.25 Draw 5.70

*All odds provided from Betano.pt. Odds are subject to change prior to kick off.

Form Guide (All Competitions)

Benfica:

Head-to-head Record

Santa Clara’s encounters against Benfica have been limited due to the fact that the club have only really been competing in the Portuguese top division since 2018. They did have a brief two-year stint in the top flight between 2001-2003, but the Azores club have spent the majority of their history in the lower leagues.

Overall, Benfica and Santa Clara have met 20 times, with 18 of those matches coming in the Primeira Liga. In the league, Benfica have dominated the tie, winning 17 games, drawing two and losing losing just once.

The clubs were also paired together in the Taça da Liga twice, with Benfica winning both those matches by a combined score of 5-0.

While Benfica have a strong record against Santa Clara at home (Benfica has won 10 of the 11 games), the visitors can take some encouragement from their 2020 match at the Estádio da Luz when Santa Clara pulled off an unlikely 4-3 victory.

The last time these two sides met, Benfica walked away with a 1-0 victory at the Estádio de São Miguel on February 15.

Players to Watch

Last season’s top scorer Vangelis Pavlidis was not in the starting lineup for Benfica’s last match against Alverca, with Lage opting to go with Ivanović as the lone striker against the Ribatejo club. Expect to see Pavlidis return to the starting lineup for Friday’s clash.

When things are clicking for Pavlidis, he is regarded as one of the league’s most dangerous scorers. Last year, the Greek forward had a breakout season, recording 30 goals and 13 assists over 57 matches (19 goals in the Primeira Liga). That included a memorable three-goal outing against Spanish giants Barcelona in the Champions League.

This season, Pavlidis has once again hit the ground running, with two goals in his first eight matches.

For Santa Clara, 23-year-old forward Gabriel Silva will be the man to keep an eye on. The Brazilian is capable of playing down the wing or in a more central role, and has the speed, skill and finishing abilities to torment any defense.

Last season, Silva recorded seven goals and led the squad with five assists. He scored Santa Clara’s first league goal of the season last week against Estoril, converting a penalty in the second half. If Santa Clara have any chance of pulling off an upset at the Estádio da Luz, Silva will need to be clinical and take advantage of any opportunities that fall to him.