Academica - Benfica Preview

Benfica travels to Coimbra this Saturday to face Academica. Academica is currently 13th in the Bwin with 8 points, with their 8 points coming from one win and 5 ties. As far as history goes, Academica has not beaten Benfica in 34 years. Academica will be looking to get a good result in order to keep them from the bottom of the table.

For Saturday's game Camacho has called the following players:

Keepers: Quim and Butt;
Defenders: Luisão, Léo, Luís Filipe, David Luiz, Nélson and Edcarlos;
Midfielders: Katsouranis, Bynia, Rui Costa, Adu, Di Maria, Nuno Assis and Petit;
Forwards: Nuno Gomes, Cardozo e Mantorras.

Notable absences are the ones of Maxi and Rodriguez. Both Uruguayans played this past Wednesday against Brasil and are showing signs of tiredness. Rodriguez has not travelled to Lisbon yet from Montevideo has he is currently suffering from an intestinal disposition, he will be making the trip tomorrow with the club's authorization. Three players make their return after going through injury spells - David Luiz, Nelson, Petit. The Brazilian had a chance to play against Nacional in a friendly a week ago, where he was one of the stand out players for Benfica. Nelson returns after a debilitating muscular injury and Petit makes his return from a partial torn ACL. Great news undoubtedly, as these 3 players were starters right before their injuries. Cardozo who had suffered a high ankle sprain in the game against Boavista seems to be ready to go also.

Projected starting 11

Quim will start in goal. In the defense, we will see the return of David Luiz to the center of the defense next to Luisao, Leo will play on the left, and depending on his fitness, we might see Nelson on the right. At this time i don't know what Nelson's conditions are and how fit he is, but i can see Camacho giving him the start in anticipation of wednesday's Champion's League match. It will be a good game for Nelson to play and get back into game fitness. Luis Felipe will be the chosen one IF Nelson can't go. In midfield we will most likely see Binya, as the defensive midfielder along with Katsouranis, Di Maria on the left and Assis on the right, Rui Costa will support Nuno Gomes. Here's my reasoning - Currently Cardozo might not be 100%, and with the Champion's League game coming up, Camacho might not risk putting in the Paraguayan. I really can't see Mantorras starting, which leaves us with one starting forward.
With the return of David Luiz to the center of defense, Katsouranis will be back in the defensive midfield. With 2 defensive midfielders, Camacho will opt to go with 3 offensive minded midfielders - Di Maria, Assis and Rui Costa, with Rui Costa having no defensive responsabilities. This seems to be the most logical starting 11. Rui Costa has less physical exertion when he doesn't have to defend and with Milan's game right around the corner, Camacho will surely try to save up the Maestro. It wouldn't be too far fetched for Adu to start in a center forward supporting role with Rui Costa dropping into the midfield and Katsouranis playing on the right, but it seems highly unlikely.
Look for Petit, Mantorras and possibly Adu to jump off the bench depending of game situation.

Benfica starts a very important cycle with the Academica game, their next match will be a crucial match against Milan, that will dictate their continuation in the Champions League. Benfica will then host Porto in another very important game where they will have an opportunity to cut down their point deficit. The Porto game will be followed by the last Champions League matchday, with a trip to the Ukraine, in what will most likely be a game under frigid unfavorable conditions. A win against Academica will be very important and the right way to start this busy cycle. Benfica will look to continue their winning streak after trouncing Boavista almost 2 weeks ago, We will see how the time off affected Benfica, for one thing, It's good to have players like Petit, Nelson and David Luiz back, and the lenghty rest is also good for some of the veterans namely Leo and Rui Costa.

I will be Posting some links to live streams of the game check back on Saturday for this info.