Liga Bwin: X-ray of the Benfica-Arouca match

Benfica's start in the 2022/23 edition of the Liga Bwin is at 8:15 pm on Friday, August 5, against Arouca, at Estádio da Luz.

The last time the Reds started the Portuguese League at home was in 2019/20. At the time, Benfica hosted Paços de Ferreira in a practically full Estádio da Luz. A 5-0 thrashing of the Paços de Ferreira, with an attendance of 62,956.

Home debuts are no exception to the rule, and if we look at the 3-2 triumph against Vitória de Guimarães in 2018/19, with 55 219 spectators, and the 3-1 win against Braga in 2017/18, with 58 826 fans present at the Cathedral, we realize that the Benfica support is unconditional since the first minute of the first match.

Head-to-Head

Futebol Clube de Arouca, which ended last season in the 15th position, one above the relegation play-off, will face the historical supremacy of Benfica in the Cathedral. In eight matches between the two teams at Estádio da Luz, the Glorioso has only failed to win on one occasion (2-2 in 2013/14, the debut season of the "Arouquenses" in the top tier of Portuguese football).

Overall, the trend remains the same. Thirteen games, eleven wins for Benfica, one draw and one win for Arouca.

Arrivals and Departures

Starting the third season in charge of Arouca, Armando Evangelista inherited, from one season to another, a team in a clear phase of transition. There were many and significant departures, with the farewells of players such as Pité (CD Mafra), Leandro Silva (Hapoel Haifa), Victor Braga (Al-Tai), Abdoulaye Ba (Sabah), André Silva (Vitória de Guimarães), Adílio Santos (Penafiel) and Kouassi Eboué (Genk).

The team starts the season with many new faces: Ismaila Soro (Celtic), Ignacio de Arruabarrena (Montevideo Wanderers), Rafa Mújica (Las Palmas), Bruno Marques (Santos), Morlaye Sylla (Horoya AC), Jerome Opoku (Fulham), Antony Alves (Joinville), Tiago Esgaio (SC Braga), João Valido (Vitória de Setúbal), Bogdan Milovanov (Sporting Gijón), Rafael Fernandes (Sporting), Mustaffa Kizza (CF Montréal), Vitinho (Corinthians) and Oriol Busquets (Clermont).

New signings that join names such as João Basso, Sema Velásquez, David Simão (a player nurtured at Benfica), Alan Ruiz, Bukia and Arsénio, important players in the team's performance last season.

Having presented the names, eleven will be chosen by Armando Evangelista to start this Friday's match, at 8:15 pm, at Estádio da Luz.

The kick-off of the Liga Bwin is Benfica-Arouca, in what will surely be a game surrounded by a fantastic atmosphere, provided by the tireless and best supporters in the world, those of Sport Lisboa e Benfica.