Ah, would you look at that, Boavista versus Benfica – a more one-sided rivalry than socks versus sandals. Let's sidle through the numbers here, shall we?
Wielding the gloves for Benfica is Anatoliy Trubin. Now, Trubin's clocked up a rating of 6.87 and managed to get his hands on the ball 4 times. On the flip cup side, Boavista are parading with João Gonçalves and Tome Sousa, who are about as effective as sunscreen on a polar bear with ratings of 6.70 and 5.70 respectively along with a combined total of only 3 saves. If I were Benfica, I'd be licking my chops– well, figuratively speaking, folks. We leave the actual licking of chops to the canine community.
Taking a stroll through the outfield – what do we spy? Oh, it's none other than Benfica's wunderkinds Orkun Kökçü and Kerem Aktürkoğlu. Kökçü, who flaunts an 85.4% accurate pass percentage, and Aktürkoğlu, with a 67.9% accurate pass percentage, are dishing out assists like they're going for a Nobel Peace Prize in generosity. Meanwhile, Boavista's Miguel Reisinho and Ilija Vukotić are trying to keep their heads above water with ratings of 7.35 and 7.20.
Our dear history books tell us tales of Benfica bandying about with their advantage in previous matchups, as recent as January 19, 2024 glinting a cozy 2-0 showing for Benfica.
Given that Benfica's regular season record sits smug at 3-1-1 and Boavista's seems to have taken a vacation at 1-2-2, I'd say the crystal clear takeaway here is that Benfica appears primed for primetime.
Lens focus on the recent results: Benfica's been putting on a goalscoring clinic, the most glamorous of which is a 4-1 victory over Santa Clara. Boavista, on the other hand, has been wilting faster than an ice cream in the Sahara, securing a lowly 2-2 draw against CF Estrela Amadora being their latest feat.
So, with all this jabberwocky translated into plain English, we land our spaceship on the following prediction.
Albert's Prediction: Benfica by 2