Liga Bwin: X-ray of the SC Braga-Benfica match

After the hiatus, due to the World Cup in Qatar (League Cup matches were played in this period), the Liga Bwin is back and matchday 14 pits Benfica and SC Braga against each other. The match against minhotos, which will be held at Estádio Municipal de Braga, is scheduled for 9:15 pm on Friday, December 30.

In all, Benfica and Braga have held 152 official matches, with Benfica recording 99 wins (65%) against 23 for Braga (15%). The eagles scored 311 goals and Braga scored 108.

The undefeated leader of the Liga Bwin, with 12 wins and one draw, Benfica faces the current 3rd place, which is nine points away from the top spot. The reds boast the best attack in the Liga Bwin (37 goals) and the best defense (seven goals conceded).

SC Braga was defeated by Sporting in the last official match (5-0 for the League Cup), a match they played in 4x4x2 with Matheus, Fabiano Souza, Vítor Tormena, Paulo Oliveira, Sequeira, Ricardo Horta, Al Musrati, Castro, Infande, Simon Banza, and Vitinha.

SC Braga was defeated in the last two home games for the Championship. The team coached by Artur Jorge lost against Chaves and Casa Pia (0-1, in both matches).

Benfica beat FC Porto (0-1) and Estoril (1-5) in the last two away matches. In six matches, the reds have only dropped points when they traveled to Vitória de Guimarães (0-0).

The reds are the team with more ball possession (64.6%) in the competition, an item in which SC Braga is 4th (55.7%), behind Benfica, Sporting, and FC Porto.

Still in the offensive chapter, and also according to data from the Wyscout platform, the minhotos come to matchday 14 as the team with the most shots in the competition (243 shots), equivalent to an average of 16.89 shots per match. Of these, 39.5% hit the target.

Benfica leads the ranks in crosses, with a success rate of 36.7%, a parameter in which SC Braga appears in the last place of the podium. Despite that, it presents a higher efficiency (37.5%) in the 248 crosses made (37.5%).

Both teams are well positioned when it comes to corners: the eagles have an average of eight per game, while SC Braga benefits from an average of six.

In the defense, the reds are the team that allows the fewest shots to rivals (4.9 per game, on average), an aspect in which the Braga's defense has the worst record (nine shots allowed, on average). Offensively, the top scorer belongs to Benfica: Gonçalo Ramos totals nine goals.

The leaders of the Championship have 8119 completed passes (572 per game), with an accuracy of 88%. Benfica is the best team in this item, while the minhotos have 6017 completed passes (418 per game) and a success rate of 84.4%.