Benfica begins their return to Primeira Liga matches for gameweek 22 when they face Santa Clara in an away fixture.
The Eagles achieved their first victory through 1-0 defense against Monaco during their midweek Champions League clampback at the first leg before the hosts entered the match with additional recovery time as they played their most recent contest on Saturday.
Vangelis Pavlidis scored for Benfica during the 48th minute to claim the first advantage of their two-legged playoff match and push their winning streak to four games across competitions.
Benfica continue their successful streak by winning two Primeira Liga matches following their recent away victory at Estoril Amadora Stadium before defeating Moreirense by the same 3-2 scoreline in the most recent domestic game.
The victory streak acted as an answer to their previous unsuccessful Premier League performance which resulted in only one win alongside three losses in four top-flight matches.
This recent comeback has pushed Benfica into second position with 47 standing league points from 15 successful matches, four defeats, and two draws. Sporting Lisbon currently leads them by four points.
Santa Clara enters this game confident in victory because the Reds have convincingly defeated Santa Clara seven times in a row with a combined score of 22-3.
The visitors have shown inconsistent performance on their away matches this year with 5 draws but still maintain the position of third best road team in the league with 17 points.
Santa Clara may knock out Benfica at Estadio Pina Manique in this matchup because they perform with strength at their home stadium.
Although the Azoreans just recently ended a three-match losing streak, defeating Casa Pia 2-1 on February 1, the hosts have won seven of their eleven league games played at the stadium, accumulating 22 points out of a possible 33 and ranking fourth in the division.
In their most recent match, they defeated AVS 2-1 on the road after Ricardinho's goal in the 55th minute was followed by an own goal from Aderllan Santos. Gerson Rodrigues' late consolation goal in stoppage time left the hosts with too much to do.
Prior to that, Santa had gone three games without winning, including a painful loss at home to Estoril Praia in between two draws. They had first lost to relegation-threatened Farense before eking out a 1-1 triumph at Porto.
After a recent comeback, Os Acorianos is now five points off of the Conference League qualifying slot with 38 points from 12 victories, 2 draws, and 7 losses, putting them in fifth place in the rankings.
