Benfica - Rio Ave betting tips and odds

Benfica are likely on their way to a decisive victory, and it’s hard to feel optimistic about the visitors’ prospects. Bookmakers are pricing a home win at 1.45, which is quite in line with most expert opinions.

Rio Ave stand next to no chance at beating the hosts in this match. For instance, most bookies online offer odds of 7.50 for an away win, indicating a very small chance of success.

Benfica will have been disappointed by their last round’s result in the Primeira Liga. What was expected to be an easy trip to Farense turned out to be an underwhelming 0:0 affair. Finishing the first half level despite expecting otherwise, Benfica failed to take the three points home in the end.

Rio Ave are coming off of an impossibly difficult matchup against Famalicão in the previous round. The heavily favoured away team easily secured a 0:1 victory after a lead in the first half.

Whether they’re playing home or away, Benfica games are rarely as exciting as fans might want them to be. Thheir previous five outings all had less than 3 goals at the 90-minute mark.

Although Benfica’s performance so far can’t be called bad by any measure, there is room for improvement. The hosts are currently occupying the Europa League spot and their dream of reaching the Champions League places seem very attainable. There’s plenty of time to earn them, too, and the forthcoming clash with Rio Ave is a great chance to do so.

Though Rio Ave are not in the relegation zone quite yet, they may be on the way there. With half the season behind us, they are still struggling to end it on a high note.

Benfica already have a victory over Rio Ave on their record. It happened earlier in this running season of the Primeira Liga, marking them as the clear favourites for the upcoming showdown.

With zero injuries reported across the board, this is shaping up to be an exciting outing indeed. Both teams will have their complete squads at their disposal, so we can fully expect them to bring their A-game.

An Under 2.5 Goals bet combines the best of both worlds: it’s a fairly safe bet with a high probability of success, but it also offers decent betting value. You can place it on the Unibet priced at 2.06 odds.