União de Leiria vs Benfica B Prediction

Right then, let's have a proper look at this Sunday showdown between União de Leiria and Benfica B. On paper, it looks like a mismatch - Leiria sitting pretty in 5th with 19 points, while Benfica B are propping up the table with just 10. But football's never that simple, is it?

Leiria have been banging in the goals lately, netting 17 in their last 10 games (1.70 per game), and they've been proper hard to beat with just one loss in that spell. They've had some cracking results too - smashing Maritimo 3-1 away and beating Chaves 2-1 at home. But here's the funny thing - their home form's been a bit dodgy recently, winning just 1 of their last 4 on their own patch.

Benfica B, bless 'em, are having a right old time of it down at the bottom. Only 2 wins from 11 games tells its own story. But they can score, netting 15 in their last 10, and they did put three past Farense in a 4-3 loss. They even kept a clean sheet in that 2-0 win at Feirense, so they're not completely useless.

When these two have met, it's been proper end-to-end stuff. Five of their six previous encounters have gone over 2.5 goals, and both teams have found the net in four of those. The last time they played, Benfica B nicked it 3-1.

Both sides seem to have forgotten how to keep clean sheets - Leiria have managed just one in their last 10, while Benfica B have also only kept one. With both teams scoring in 90% and 80% of their recent games respectively, we could be in for another goal fest.

The bookies have got Leiria as favourites at 1.90, but given their shaky home form and Benfica B's decent head-to-head record against them, I'm not convinced. The Both Teams to Score market at 1.67 looks much more appealing - both sides have shown they can score, and both have defensive issues that could be exploited.

Key Points:

• Leiria are 5th with 19 points, Benfica B are 18th with 10 points

• Leiria have lost just 1 of their last 10 games (4W-5D-1L)

• Both teams score frequently: Leiria 90%, Benfica B 80% in recent games

• 5 of 6 head-to-head matches have gone over 2.5 goals

• Leiria's home form is surprisingly weak (25% win rate in last 4 home games)

• Benfica B won 2-0 at Feirense in their last away game

Both teams have got goals in them and both look a bit leaky at the back. Given the head-to-head trend and recent form, I'm backing both teams to get on the scoresheet here.