Shakhtar - Benfica Champions League Preview

Benfica traveled to the Ukraine this Sunday morning to prepare for their Champions League final match. A match that will not have any implications on whether Benfica advances to the second round or not, but that can keep Benfica in Europe. Benfica will have to beat Shakhtar on their home pitch, in what will, most likely, be adverse meteorological conditions. Looking at the remainder of the group, Milan has already clinched a spot in the second round as they are currently first with 10 points, in second place we see Celtic with 9 points, Shakthtar has 6 points while Benfica tallies 4. Shakhtar will be wanting to get the three points in the event of a Celtic loss in Milan, they can go through. Celtic needs a least a tie to make it through, however, taking into consideration that Milan felt they were humiliated in Glasgow, with the whole Dida incident, i very much doubt that the Milan players will not want some type of a payback, and will surely be playing for a win.

Camacho called the following players:

Keepers- Butt and Quim;Defenders - Luisão, Léo, Luis Filipe, Edcarlos, Nélson and David Luiz;
Midfielders - Katsouranis, Maxi Pereira, Rui Costa, Petit, Romeu Ribeiro and Nuno Assis;
Forwards - Nuno Gomes, Di María, Adu, Cardozo and Bergessio.

The notable absence is Rodriguez. Rodriguez suffered a muscular injury against Porto and Camacho has decided to rehab and rest the player. Rodriguez is also showing some signs of tiredness, after a double National team round and a late comeback to Portugal, Rodriguez seems to need to recharge his batteries. I'm not sure how long the injury will keep him out, but he will most likely be ready to go by next weekend. Binya didn't travel has he is currently serving the the second of his 6 games ban.

Projected line up:
Quim in goal, The back four will most likely remain the same, with, Luis Felipe, Luisao, David Luiz and Leo. In the midfield Katsouranis and Petit will play in fron of the defense while Maxi, Rui Costa and Di Maria will support Nuno Gomes up front. Another possibility can be Maxi at right back and Assis on the right of the midfield. I'd love to see Benfica play with 2 center forwards with Cardozo and Nuno gomes but it'll be hard to see Katsouranis sit the bench. Camacho could very well do away with Katsouranis to put another forward in the front. Maxi as a player with defensive characteristics, could very well help out Petit in the middle when the team defends, but at this time, Petit has probably not reached his normal levels of stamina and it probably wouldn't be the best choice. The way i feel is that Benfica needs to win this game and they need to field an offensive minded team this Tuesday.

Keys to the game:

Team Spirit - After the loss to Porto, can the team move on and focus on their secondary European goal? Something to be seen.

Di Maria - Di Maria will most definitely start in Rodriguez's place. The left is the side Di Maria is the most comfortable with, he will need to have a good consistent performance, as well as constant participation in the game. He can't disappear, he needs to be involved and very active.

Weather - Typical weather in the Ukraine at this time of year is very cold with the possibility of snow, how will the frigid conditions affect the players? - I've installed a "widget" right below the game countdown that will tell you the current weather and temperature in Donetsk.

There's no need to over extend myself in explaining why Benfica needs to win this game. A team of Benfica's reputation should be in Europe. Currently Benfica is not at the Champions League level, as this year has been a rebuilding year, but, Benfica needs to be present in the Uefa Cup. Securing a spot in the Uefa cup could do a lot for Benfica as a team, as it'll provide experience for the many young players currently on the squad. The January transfer window is right around the corner, with a couple of good acquisitions, Benfica could very well have a good run in the Uefa Cup. Let's not forget that this year will possibly be Rui Costa's last, as a team they could very well pull together and let Rui Costa have another go at the second most important trophy in Europe.

It'll be a very hard game, but with team spirit and strong desire to win, i think Benfica will come out on top.


Foto - Isabel Cutileiro