Benfica - Boavista - 10th Round Preview

Boavista travels to Lisbon this Sunday to play Benfica, in a match that will once again be an important one for Benfica. Boavista comes into Estadio da Luz in 13th place with six points, all of them coming from ties, as Boavista has not won a game in the Bwin yet. They will be looking to get in the winning column, and what a better way to do it than against Benfica. On the other hand, Benfica is in sole possession of second place trailing Porto by 6 points and ahead of Sporting by 1 point, needless to say, no margin for error.

For this Sunday's game Camacho has called the following players:
Keepers: Quim and Butt;
Defenders: Luis Filipe, Edcarlos, Luisão and Léo;
Midfielders: Katsouranis, Rui Costa, Maxi Pereira, Bynia, Nuno Assis, Cristian Rodriguez, Adu and Romeu Ribeiro;
Forwards: Cardozo, Bergessio, Di Maria and Nuno Gomes.

Romeu Ribeiro makes his return to the call up sheet after being hurt. I think it's the first time Adu has been listed as a Midfielder not a forward in the official call up sheet, if i'm not mistaken. The list of defenders seems a little slim, but both Katsouranis and Maxi can play defense. Zoro was left out by option and Miguelito is hurt. David Luiz made his return to full training this week, but is not game ready yet, as he needs to work on his fitness. Petit and Nelson continue on the injury list.
Looking at the players selected, i'm projecting the following line up:
Quim in goal. The defense will be composed of Leo, Luisao, Katsouranis and Luis Felipe. In midfield, Binya will play in the defensive midfield role, Rodriguez and Maxi will play on the wings, Rui Costa will be in his customary playmaking role, while upfront it'll be Nuno Gomes and Cardozo. Another variation can be Maxi in Luis Felipe's spot and Assis or Di Maria on the right wing, which might be unlikely, if Camacho decides to go with 2 forwards, which is most likely what will happen. Maxi offers more balance to a 4-4-2 configuration and with only one defensive midfielder in Binya, Camacho needs another player with more defensive characteristics in the midfield. Assis is clearly at his best playing behind the center forward and Di Maria is a pure offensive winger. Look for Di Maria to come off the bench for Maxi at the hour mark, We might also see Adu late in the game, either as a last minute weapon or as a refresher to the attacking third.

A few things to watch for:
- Binya - there is no doubt that the Cameroonian will be closely watched by the referee, after what happened this past tuesday. He will be victim of different criteria, and he will not have the benefit of the doubt from the referee, let's see how this conditions the game on his part.
- Cardozo/Nuno Gomes partnership - these 2 haven't played together for a while now. If i'm not mistaken, the last game they played together was a game against Naval, a game Benfica won 3-0.
- Leo - the Brazilian international was in doubt not only for this game, but also for Tuesday's game. It is obvious Leo is not 100%, he has not been working out with the team, and has been following a "tiredness management" program with Benfica's physio.
- Team response - After an unfortunate loss in Glasgow, the team will need to show that they weren't affected by the result from tuesday. Team captain Nuno Gomes came out in defense of Binya this past friday, a sign the group is as close as ever. They will need to prove that on the field as well.

In conclusion, another tough game for Benfica this sunday. Jaime Pacheco's men will be up to the task, and will be looking to get their first win of the season against Benfica. There's no doubt in my mind that they will try to explore the Binya factor, with provocations and less than lawful tackles and see how he will respond. It will be a test to the maturity of the Cameroonian player and to what he has learned in these past 3 days. An exciting match no doubt but look for Benfica to win this one 2-0.