Liga Betclic: Benfica-Farense X-ray

In the return of Liga Betclic matches at Estádio da Luz, Benfica hosts Farense at 6 pm this Friday, December 8, in a game from matchday 13. The eagles' focus is on getting back to winning ways against the team that returned to the top flight of Portuguese football this season.

The two sides have met 48 times in the league, with 32 wins for the Reds and 10 draws. 

Roger Schmidt's team, who have gone 11 games unbeaten in the competition, are aiming for 1st place in the Liga Betclic with 29 points, while Farense arrives at the Cathedral in mid-table, in 8th place with 16 points: defeat in the last round against Vitória SC interrupted a run of three straight wins that had allowed José Mota's team to climb the table.

The figures provided by the Wyscout platform show that, in several indicators, the extremes will touch each other on the Estádio da Luz pitch. Despite scoring only two fewer goals than Benfica (21 against 23), Farense are the Liga Betclic team with the fewest touches inside their opponents' areas (133), a parameter in which the Eagles have the best record in the competition (345).

With five goals scored, Di María continues to be Benfica's top scorer in the league, while on the Algarve side, Mattheus Oliveira and Bruno Duarte, with four goals apiece, are the marksmen for a team that excels at using the midfield (five goals from outside the area) and set pieces (three penalties and two direct free kicks).

Leaders of the Liga Betclic in terms of possession percentage (61.8%) and passing efficiency (86.7%), the Eagles will face the team with the worst records, 42.9% and 77.8% respectively, in those same parameters.

Another point that helps to illustrate the tendency of the two teams to play is the comparison in terms of the total number of passes, with Benfica registering 6928, the highest in the competition, compared to 3772 for their next opponents, who have the least number of passes in this edition of the league.

With nine goals conceded against Farense's 17, Roger Schmidt's side are 61.8% effective in defensive duels, while Farense are only 56.3%, but lead the 18 teams in the league in interceptions (592).

With 207 shots in 12 Liga Betclic matches, Benfica's players have the most shots on goal in the competition and in their next match they will face the team with the most shots (209).

On matchday 12 of the Liga Betclic, Trubin, Aursnes, António Silva, Otamendi, Morato, Florentino, João Neves, Di María, João Mário, Rafa and Tengstedt formed Benfica's starting eleven for the clash with Moreirense.

Farense played in a 4x2x3x1 formation, with Ricardo Velho, Pastor, Gonçalo Silva, Zach Muscat, Talocha, Cláudio Falcão, Vítor Gonçalves, Belloumi, Mattheus Oliveira, Marco Matias and Bruno Duarte, in the home loss against Vitória SC, in the last round.