Benfica - Milan CL Matchday 5

Benfica plays their future in the Champions League on Wednesday. A win would keep Benfica in the running, while a loss or a tie would definetely see them out of the competition. On the other hand, Milan needs at least a tie to remain at the top of the group, but they will undoubtedly want to win and secure a spot in the second round before matchday 6. A sellout crowd is expected at Estadio da Luz and Benfica hope that they can feed off the crowd to obtain a positive result, after all, it's not only Celtic Park or San Siro that have their unique atmospheres, Estadio da Luz aka "The Luz Inferno", can also be quite intimidating.

Camacho called the following players:

Keepers: Quim and Butt.
Defenders: Luisão, Léo, Luís Filipe, David Luiz, Nélson and Edcarlos.
Midfielders: Katsouranis, Petit, Rui Costa, Maxi Pereira, Cristian Rodriguez, Nuno Assis and Romeu Ribeiro.
Forwards: Nuno Gomes, Cardozo, Adu and Di Maria.

It's the first time we see the squad at full strenght this season. What a better time than right now, a decisive game against Milan followed by the home clash against Porto.

Maxi or Assis, 4-4-2 or 4-5-1 ?

These are the 2 main doubts on how Camacho will set up the team. Maxi's inclusion at right back solidifies the back line. Maxi comes off a good performance against Brazil where he closed down Ronaldinho, Camacho will take advantage of that. Here's my projected Line up:
Quim will be in goal. In defense we will most likely see Leo, David Luiz, Luisao and Maxi as they are the strongest back 4 in the squad. In the midfield, both Petit and Katsouranis will play in front of the defense, Rui Costa will be in charge of the midfield. Rodriguez will be back on the left wing while on the right wing we might see Assis. Assis seems to have recuperated from the knock he picked up on Saturday and he offers a certain dynamic to the midfield, as he often drifts to the middle to combine with Rui Costa. The other 2 alternatives for the right can be Di Maria or Adu. The Argentinian played well against Academica but on the left. Adu played 30 mins on the right side and did very well. I don't think we will see Maxi in the midfield, because with Petit back, Benfica will not need another defensive minded player on the right. Up front it'll be Nuno Gomes. I think Camacho will start with one forward up front, as he needs numbers in the midfield to control the middle of the park. Nuno Gomes offers more mobility than Cardozo and brings more experience to the team.
As you read this you're probably thinking - It's a must win game for Benfica why not play with 2 forwards? A 4-4-2 would mean having to sacrifice a man in the middle, a defensive midfielder for sure. Taking into consideration Milan's midfield - Gattuso, Kaka, Ambrosini, Seedorf, Pirlo; numbers in the middle is the best option to control and defend against Milan.

Keys to the game

Strong Start - Benfica has been starting every game well, this is something that Camacho has told the team to do, to come out strong and hard. Milan will be waiting for Benfica to come at them as they know Benfica will need to have the game initiative. In Milan Benfica suffered a goal early and had an uphill battle the rest of the game.

Benfica's Midfield - A win will very much depend on how well Benfica's midfield plays. Defensively they will need to stop Kaka and company. Offensively, they must find ways to penetrate Milan's defense and help Nuno Gomes as much as possible.

Crowd Support - Benfica needs to keep the crowd into the game by displaying a good flow of game, complete with goal scoring opportunities; If Benfica is playing well the crowd will be behind the team. Crowd support is essential as they will often provide the push the team needs to put them over the top.

It is not an impossible task to beat Milan, Benfica shouldn't be thinking about nothing else other than a win and shouldn't be intimidated by Milan's talent.

Read my "Down but not Out" Post - where i explore the various possibilities for Benfica