Liga Betclic: Rio Ave-Benfica X-ray

This Friday, May 17 (8:45pm), Benfica travels to Estádio do Rio Ave to play the last round (34) of the Liga Betclic and wrap up the 2023/24 season.

Currently on 79 points, the Glorioso is looking for another win and could end their league campaign on 82 points, which would mean breaking the 80-point barrier for the sixth time since 2014/15, when the league was once again made up of 18 teams.

To get there, Roger Schmidt's team will have to deal with an opponent that has the status of “king” of draws in the competition (18 in 33 games played) and is on an 11-game unbeaten run at home: the last defeat at home, 3-4 against Farense, was on October 29, 2023.

However, in the history of matches between the two teams, the division of points is a rare scenario, with Benfica recording 43 wins and 10 draws in 57 league games. In Vila do Conde, the eagles have 18 wins and six draws in 28 matches. In the reverse fixture (matchday 17), a comeback completed with goals from Di María, António Silva, Marcos Leonardo and João Mário culminated in a 4-1 win for the Reds at Estádio da Luz.

The 43 points that separate Benfica from 10th-placed Rio Ave in the Liga Betclic 2023/24 league table are reflected in the numbers provided by the Wyscout platform. Leaders among the 18 teams in the competition in terms of the number of shots taken (545) and the percentage of shots on target (42.4%), the Reds go into the final game of the season with 76 goals scored against the 37 of the Vila-Condenses, the second team with the fewest shots (317, with 41.6% of them on target) in the league.

Benfica also have an advantage over all the teams in the league when it comes to passing, both in terms of the number of attempts (17,997) and the percentage of effectiveness (86.8%). Rio Ave, on the other hand, have 13,140 and 82.8%, respectively, and are also showing a dominating tendency, amplified by their possession figures: 48.9% against the Eagles' 57.8%.

In terms of defense, the Glorioso come into the game with one of the best records in the competition (27 goals conceded against Rio Ave's 42) and with the upper hand in defensive duels won, a parameter in which the Vila-Condenses have the worst record in the league: 57.3% against Benfica's 59.9%.

On an individual level, as a result of his tremendous displayagainst Arouca, Rafa now has 14 goals and 12 assists to his name, cementing his status as Benfica's most influential player in the competition, with Di María also playing a leading role in the rankings for crosses (159), deep passes (75), progressive passes (263) and decisive passes (38). 

For the hosts in this Friday's match, Boateng has seven goals to his name and Costinha stands out in terms of assists (8). The latter is also the player in the league who is most involved in defensive duels (308).

On the previous matchday (33), Benfica beat Arouca 5-0 in a game in which Roger Schmidt fielded a line-up made up of Trubin, Aursnes, António Silva, Otamendi, Álvaro Carreras, Florentino, João Neves, Di María, João Mário, Kökcü and Rafa, who said goodbye to the Estádio da Luz with the eagle on his chest.

Luís Freire used a 3x4x3 formation of Jhonatan, Pantalon, Aderllan Santos, Patrick, Costinha, Vítor Gomes, Amine, Fábio Ronaldo, Joca, Umaro Embaló and Boateng in the 2-2 draw against Portimonense.