Benfica league schedule for 2024-25 season released

The Portuguese League has released the full schedule for the 2024-25 season and we now all know who Benfica will face week in and week out. 

Benfica will kick off their campaign on the road against Famalicao on the weekend of August 11th and open the season at the Luz the following weekend against Casa Pia.

Benfica will take on rivals FC Porto in Week 11 at home and Week 28, they will face city rivals Sporting in Week 16 on the road and Week 33 and end the season on the weekend of May 17 on the road at Braga.

Benfica will also travel back to the islands to face both Santa Clara and Nacional who make their returns to top flight. Benfica are in Sao Miguel, Azores for Week 22 of the season and in the Madeira on Week 8.

Full Benfica Schedule; Click to Enlarge:

Benfica will loan Prestianni out this season

Benfica will be looking to get winter transfer signing Gianluca Prestianni some regular playing time this season, but it will not be with the club as they look to loan the 18 year old. The club is currently assessing their options on where it would be best to place the winger, as they want to make sure Prestianni is put in the best possible position to grow.

Ajax are said to be the front runners to land Prestianni's services, but there are also a few Argentinian clubs with interest in bringing home the U17 international. Benfica acquired Prestianni from Velez Sarsfield for €9M and any loan of the player will not include a buy option. 

Benfica are hoping that a Prestianni loan will have the same results as Andreas Schjeldrup, who returned to Norwegian club Nordsjaelland last season on loan. The 20 year old scored ten goals and provided eleven assists across 38 games, his performance not only had him named the spring season player of the year but also earned him his first call up to the national side.

Benfica looking to bring Joao Felix home for cut rate price

In a shocking turn of events, Benfica is said to be in talks with Barcelona about bringing home Seixal Academy product Joao Felix. Benfica have offered Atletico Madrid €20M to obtain 50% of Felix's pass, while Atletico are open to the move if they are to receive €25M for the same ownership.

This is just five years after Benfica sold Felix to Atletico for a whopping record fee of €127.2M after his breakout performance during the 2018-19 season. Felix, who is still only 24 years old, has had moments of brilliance in his time at Atletico but has fallen out of favour at the club and spent the past season and a half on loan at Chelsea and Barcelona.

The biggest obstacle to Felix returning to his boyhood club could be the salary he currently commands, which is in excess of €4M per season after a contract restructure with Atletico last summer, but after paying Angel di Maria over €9M last season, it may not be as big of an obstacle as some will make you believe.

With Di Maria off the books this year, a return for Felix could make a lot of sense for both parties, as Benfica looks to add to their attack while Felix looks to get what was once a promising career back on track. Felix appeared in 44 games across all competitions for Barcelona last season, scoring ten goals while providing six helpers.

Felix would likely slot into the role that recently departed Rafa Silva held at the club and is also able to play either wing if required by the club. Benfica hopes to rejuvenate Felix's career and may once again get top dollar for a player who just in 2021-22, was named Atletico's player of the year by the club's supporters.