Liga Bwin: X-ray of the Benfica-Casa Pia match

After three consecutive away wins against Santa Clara (0-3), Paços de Ferreira (0-2) e Arouca (0-3), Benfica, the leader of the Liga Bwin, plays again at Estádio da Luz.

This Saturday, February 4, at 6:00 pm, the men under Roger Schmidt face Casa Pia, the team that sits in fifth place in the table on its return to the top flight after an 83-year absence.

Looking for the fourth win in a row, Benfica faces an opponent (it is the 39th official match between the two teams) that won in the last round (2-1, over Santa Clara), after two straight losses to Estoril (2-0) and Gil Vicente (1-3).

Against Santa Clara, coach Filipe Martins fielded the following starting XI in 3x4x3: Ricardo Batista, Fernando Varela, João Nunes, Nermin Zolotic, Lucas Soares, Cuca, Afonso Taira, Derick Poloni, Godwin, Rafael Martins and Kunimoto.

After 19 league matches, Benfica has the best attack of the competition (48 goals, an average of 2,5 per match), while Casa Pia scored 18 times. Defensively, the Reds' next rival has conceded only 17 goals in 18 games, making them the third-best team in this aspect (the Reds are second, with 12 goals conceded).

With one more match played, Benfica leads with an eight-point advantage and remains dominant in possession. According to data from the Wyscout platform, the Reds have a 64% rate in this item, while Casa Pia is 43% (third-worst team in this parameter).

With 380 crosses, the team coached by Roger Schmidt beats their rivals in this item, and Casa Pia is among the teams that cross the least (189). Only Estoril (182) and Arouca (176) are below Casa Pia.

A similar difference is found in the number of touches in the opponent's box. Benfica is the second team in this ranking (458) and has more than twice as many interventions as the current 5th placed team in Liga Bwin (221).

The team with more passes (564 per 90 minutes, on average), Benfica distances itself from Casa Pia, which registers 345 per game. 

Living up to its lead in the competition (with 50 points), Benfica is the team that allows the fewest shots (5.49 per match, on average), while Casa Pia allows more than double (12.19 per match) of shots on goal.

The sixth team that commits more fouls in the Championship (248 fouls committed against 212 by the Reds, the second team with the best record in this particular), the team led by Filipe Martins is the third with the most defensive duels won (1258).