Santa Clara will put their unbeaten Primeira Liga record on the line when they welcome Benfica to the Estadio de Sao Miguel on Monday.

Just one point and two places separate the sides in the Portuguese top-flight table, with the Eagles sitting second on 19 points from eight matches, five behind leaders Porto.

Match preview

Benfica travel to the Azores looking to keep pace with Porto after winning six of their opening eight league matches, with Marco Silva's men scoring 24 goals, four more than any other side in the division, while conceding seven.

The Eagles responded to their first league defeat of the season against Porto by beating Vitoria de Guimaraes 2-0 in their most recent top-flight outing, with Alexander Bah opening the scoring before Georgiy Sudakov sealed the victory just two minutes after coming off the bench.

That result marked Benfica's fifth win in their last six league matches, with their only setback during that period coming against Porto, and they will be eager to avoid dropping further points in a title race where the leaders have won all eight of their opening fixtures.

The Lisbon outfit also maintained their impressive continental form during the week, recording a 4-1 victory away to Omonia to sit top of the Europa League table after winning each of their opening three league-phase matches.

Benfica can also draw confidence from their dominant record in this fixture, having won eight of their last 10 league meetings with Santa Clara (D2), including a 2-1 success on their most recent visit to the Estadio de Sao Miguel in February.

Santa Clara, meanwhile, have made an encouraging start to the new campaign after finishing 13th last season, collecting 18 points from eight matches (W5, D3) to occupy fourth place in the standings.

Petit's side have been particularly impressive defensively, conceding just four goals so far, a tally matched only by leaders Porto, while their five clean sheets are also among the best records in the division.

That resilience was evident in Santa Clara's most recent league outing against Rio Ave, where Joao Vasconcelos marked his debut with the winning goal in a 1-0 victory over 10-man Casa Pia, taking the Azoreans' tally to 12 goals in the top flight this season.

However, Petit's men fell short of their usual defensive standards in the Taca de Portugal last weekend, suffering a 3-2 extra-time defeat to third-tier Mafra despite initially taking the lead through Dje Tavares, who was subsequently sent off in the latter stages of the first half.

Santa Clara will now aim to respond to that cup disappointment by extending an impressive home record that has seen them avoid defeat in their last six league matches at the Estadio de Sao Miguel (W4, D2), keeping clean sheets in each of their most recent three outings there.
 

Santa Clara Primeira Liga form:

Santa Clara form (all competitions):

Benfica Primeira Liga form:

Benfica form (all competitions):

Team News

Santa Clara will be without Tavares, who is suspended after receiving two yellow cards during the cup defeat to Mafra, leaving Vasconcelos and Daniel Borges as the leading candidates to replace him in midfield.

Matheus Araujo, also known as MT, has returned to training following a lengthy recovery from an anterior cruciate ligament injury, and the midfielder could feature if deemed ready.

First-choice goalkeeper Lucas Franca is expected to return between the sticks after being rested for the cup match, with Neneca likely to make way.

Benfica remain without Enzo Barrenechea, who is recovering from meniscus surgery, while Leandro Barreiro is expected to be sidelined until after the November international break due to a muscular problem.

Jakub Kaminski and Daniel Banjaqui are also unavailable with muscular injuries, while Vangelis Pavlidis will be assessed before Monday's encounter after coming off injured in the victory over Omonia.
 

Santa Clara possible starting lineup:

Franca; Soares, Pacheco, Fernandes, Romao; Vasconcelos, Ferreira, Ribeiro; V Lopes, Paciencia, B Lucas

Benfica possible starting lineup:

Soares; Bah, T Araujo, Lenglet, Dahl; Aursnes, Palhinha; R Silva, Sudakov, Prestianni; Duran

We say: Santa Clara 1-2 Benfica

Santa Clara's unbeaten league record and defensive resilience should make this a difficult assignment for Benfica, particularly given the hosts' recent success at the Estadio de Sao Miguel.

However, the visitors possess considerable attacking quality and have consistently enjoyed the upper hand in this fixture, making an away victory the more likely outcome.
 

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.