Liga Betclic: Benfica-Gil Vicente X-ray

Benfica will be looking to continue their run of six consecutive league wins when they host Gil Vicente on Sunday, February 4, at 6 pm, on matchday 20 of the Liga Betclic.

The latest chapter of success for Roger Schmidt's men took place at the Estádio José Gomes in Amadora, where the Eagles recorded another victory (1-4), maintaining their unbeaten run in the last 18 matches. Looking at their record in the Liga Betclic, Benfica are only two points behind - they have 48 - those they held in the 2022/23 season at the start of round 20, which ended with them winning their 38th national championship.

Gil Vicente are also enjoying a good run of form in the competition, having won three of their last five matches and picked up seven points out of a possible nine in their games against Estrela da Amadora (1-1), Portimonense (0-2) and Vitória SC (1-0). The Barcelos side are in mid-table with 22 points and have moved away from the relegation places in recent rounds. In the reverse fixture, the match between Gil Vicente and Benfica in Minho ended with the eagles taking all three points  (2-3).

It will be the 51st official meeting between the two sides, who have played 45 league matches. Benfica have won 33 (73%) and drawn 6 (13%), regardless of whether they are away or away. At home, the Eagles have won 16 (73%) and drawn 2 (9%) of the 22 games played.

Benfica remain in the top places, in many of them first, in the various parameters of the game, as reflected in the data consulted on the Wyscout platform before the start of matchday 20.

The 326 shots taken by the Eagles in the competition so far are the most of any team in the competition, compared to Gil Vicente's 193 - 41.1% of the Reds' shots hit the target, while the Gilistas managed it 44% of the time.

Gil Vicente are the team with the fewest crosses in the league (185 crosses against 354), while Benfica have the most one-on-one dribbles (673 against 515), and the most touches in the opponent's penalty box (544 against 256).

Benfica are also dominant in passing (10,482 against 7,986), and are the second team with the highest percentage of correct passes (86.4% against 82.7%). The Eagles have an average of 58.5% possession per game, while Gil Vicente have 50.9%, the 5th best record in the league, proof that they are a team that likes to have the ball in their possession.

Defensively, Estádio da Luz is home to the best team in the competition (12 goals conceded against 31 for Gil Vicente), who have allowed 192 shots, while Gil Vicente have allowed 247. The two teams have a similar record when it comes to the percentage of success in defensive duels (61.1% against 60.6%), with Benfica accounting for 1,340 duels and their next opponents for 1,278.

Rafa continues to lead the list of players with the most assists in the competition (9), and in Amadora he equaled Di María as the Eagles' top scorer in the league, with seven goals. Gil Vicente's top scorer is midfielder Maxime Dominguez, with six goals. Di María (58) and Rafa (57) have the most shots for Benfica, a status that Murilo (30) has among the Barcelos men.

In the Eagles' 1-4 win over Estrela da Amadora at the Estádio José Gomes on matchday 19 of the Liga Betclic, coach Roger Schmidt opted for a starting eleven made up of Trubin, Aursnes, António Silva, Otamendi, Morato, João Neves, Kökcü, Di María, Rafa, João Mário and Arthur Cabral. Highlights of the match included Bah's return to competition - he hadn't played due to injury since October 24 - and Rollheiser's official debut with the eagle on his chest.

Gil Vicente coach Vítor Campelos, in his side's 1-0 win at Vitória SC in the last round of the Liga Betclic, lined up his team in a 4x1x4x1 formation, with the following eleven: Andrew, Zé Carlos, Gabriel, Rúben Fernandes, Leonardo Buta, Jesús Castillo, Maxime Rodriguez, Fujimoto, Martim Neto, Murilo and Félix Correia.