Carlsberg Cup Preview - Benfica - Setubal

This Saturday Benfica hosts Setubal in the first leg of the quarter finals for the Carlsberg Cup. Benfica got to this point by beating Estrela Da Amadora in a controversial game that saw Benfica tie in the closing minutes to send the game into penalties which Benfica eventually won. The call was a supposed handball by one of Estrela's defenders inside their box, the ref didn't hesitate and pointed to the penalty spot. TV images later showed the non-existent handball. It was probably Benfica's worst game of the current season, so far, and even though Camacho left a lot of the starters on the bench the team that took the field did very little to deserve the tie much less the win. With a couple bright spots coming from that game (Adu and Binya) the team was otherwise very far from a good performance. View my analysis of that game and player evaluations here.
That's the past now. This round, we will have the 2 leg format, a format which will remain up until the final. With 2 legs to play, the first game doesn't have the make or break importance, yet a bad result could put the team in a bad position while having to play as visitors in the second leg. Setubal is currently 6th in the Bwin and with 7 rounds played they have yet to register a loss, needless to say, it won't be no walk in the park for Benfica.
Benfica on the other hand will field a starting 11 that will be missing some of their more important players. Here's the list of the players that Camacho has called up for this game:
Keepers : Quim e Bruno Costa. - Butt which had started in goal in the last game of the Carlsberg Cup will not be fit to play due to a shoulder injury, he would have most likely have been the starting keeper.
Defense: Luís Filipe, Miguelito, Luisão, Zoro e Miguel Vítor. - At first sight, it seems like not enough backups, but let's not forget that both Binya and Katsouranis can play in a central defensive position, while Zoro can play right D also.
Midfielders: Romeu Ribeiro, Katsouranis, Andrés Diaz, Bynia, Freddy Adu, Di Maria, Fábio Coentrão e Nuno Assis - Camacho has opted to rest Rui Costa, Maxia and Rodriguez with a crucial Champions League game mid-week next week, it seems like the right choice, the 2 Uruguayans also played mid-week for their national team, they earn a very well deserved rest.
Forwards: Bergessio, Dabao e Mantorras. - Bergessio returns after a short injury spell, and Mantorras sees himself being called up for the first time since he was put on a intensive rehabilitation program by Camacho, Dabao, which started up front in the previous round will most likely just be a back up to the back up.
My projected line up:
Quim
Luis Felipe, Luisao, Zoro, Miguelito - Luis Felipe sees himself back in the line up again, with Nelson being injured and Maxi, which played right back last game, getting a deserved rest, he gets another chance to prove his value to Camacho, with Nelson coming back from injury and Maxi being able to play that role Luis Felipe sees himself as the odd man out and needs to fight for a spot and Camacho's confidence. This week he publicly commented on the fact that the change of coaches impacted the team negatively. He will most likely be on the bubble to be cut as Camacho has already expressed the desire to cut down the squad from 30 players to 23. Luisao has yet to achieve competitive rhythm so he needs the reps. Zoro is given another chance to impress, and while he wasn't one of the worst in the last round, in my opinion, he will have to deal with the tremendous competition for the player who will start next to Luisao in the very near future. Edcarlos is injured but will most likely recover in time for the Champions League clash against Celtic next week. David Luiz is entering a more advanced stage of his rehab after a foot fracture and will soon be practicing with the squad on a limited basis. This is truly a chance Zoro can not let go to waste. a good performance could win him a possible start in the Celtic game IF Edcarlos does not recover in time.
Di Maria, Katsouranis, Binya, Coentrao will be the midfield quartet. For Di Maria this is a showcase game, a game where he needs to establish himself as a player who can define the game with a stroke of genious, everyone knows he has the talent, but he is missing a very important part of his game, the killer instinct, whether it's a well placed shot or a "half a goal" pass. No surprises in the middle, Katsouranis and Binya will provide the stronghold of the middle of the field. Coentrao will get the start at on the right and another chance to show Camacho that he can fight for that spot. There's no doubt that Fabio has talent, but he needs to grow up and step up.
Up front Bergessio and Adu. Although Bergessio will most likely be the choice to start up front i have my doubts about Adu starting, i'd like to see him start playing in a supporting role to Bergessio, who is not really a center forward, but will run his ass off.. If Adu doesn't start Nuno Assis will be the choice, with Adi being one of the first ones off the bench. I think that at this point Adu deserves a start. He has shown to be humble, and hasn't at all shown any type of disappointment with his lack of playing, on the contrary, every chance he has he expresses how lucky he is to be in a position to learn and continues to commit himself to hard work in hopes that chance will come. Get ready Freddy.
Benfica will need to play their game and come away with a win, the new players can not be intimidated and need to make the best of this chance as December will be right around the corner and there will be players who will be loaned out, they will be playing in front of their fans in a pitch that will be in excellent conditions, no Excuses.. a win will not put so much pressure on the team for the second leg.