Liga Betclic: Casa Pia-Benfica X-ray

 Benfica faces Casa Pia at 6 pm on Sunday, March 17, at the Estádio Municipal de Rio Maior. The match on matchday 26 of the Liga Betclic is the last before the league break for international commitments and brings to a close a demanding cycle of 13 games for the Eagles in 43 days.

With a rich history in the Lisbon Regional Championships, Benfica and Casa Pia will be facing each other for only the 6th time in League matches. Four wins and a draw give the eagles the advantage over an opponent who, in the reverse fixture (matchday 9), became one of the two teams to take points away from the Estádio da Luz (1-1).

The 34 points that separate the two Lisbon teams in the table (61 for the Eagles and 27 for the Geese) are reflected above all in their attack. With just 23 goals scored, Benfica's next opponents have the worst attack in the league, while Roger Schmidt's side have 59.

One of the parameters presented by the Wyscout platform that helps explain this gap is shots. With 392 shots (43.6% of them on target), Benfica lead the pack of teams competing in the Liga Betclic, while Casa Pia have just 236 (34.7% on frame), the second-worst record in the competition.

The Geese also occupy the last position in the ranking of ball touches in opposition areas: 274 compared to 652 for the Reds.

The extremes also feature in the numbers focused on the game build-up, which, together with those of the attack, illustrate the game tendency of both teams. Absolute league leaders in terms of passes (13,713) and passing efficiency (86.7%), Benfica have a knack for circulating the ball and controlling it, with 57.8% possession. Casa Pia, on the other hand, with 8904 passes and 44.8% possession, have no problem giving their opponents the initiative and playing a direct game.

With 21 goals conceded, the Eagles also outscore their next opponents, who have 38, in defending their goal. The differences are equally clear in terms of defensive duels won (60.5% against 57.2%) and aerial duels won (44.4% against 40.8%).

Benfica come into this game with Rafa leading the way in goals (12) and assists (11) and with the Liga Betclic record holder for efficiency. With his goal in the win over Estoril, his fifth in the league, Marcos Leonardo topped the list of players who needed the least time to score: 35.6 minutes.

For the Geese, Felippe Cardoso and Pablo Roberto, with three goals apiece, are the biggest threats to the Reds' goal, as Clayton Silva, who is still the team's top scorer in the league with eight clean sheets, was traded to Vasco da Gama earlier this month.

In the last Liga Betclic match, which culminated in a 3-1 win over Estoril, Roger Schmidt fielded a Benfica XI made up of Trubin, Bah, Tomás Araújo, António Silva, Aursnes, Florentino, João Mário, Neres, Kökcü, Tiago Gouveia and Marcos Leonardo.

For his part, Gonçalo Santos lined up his team in a 3x4x3 with Ricardo Batista, Fernando, Zolotic, Tchamba, Larrazabal, Beni, Pablo Roberto, Leonardo Lelo, Lameiras, Fernando Andrade and Nuno Moreira, in Casa Pia's 3-1 defeat against Estrela da Amadora.