Sporting - Benfica Preview

This Sunday, Portugal's eternal rivals meet for the 274th time. The history between the two goes back a little bit over 100 years, when the teams first played each other on December 1st, 1907. Throughout the years Benfica has had the edge over Sporting, winning more leagues, and beating their rivals in more occasions.
Benfica and Sporting have always been at opposite ends, they have been the subject of each other's ridiculing and will forever be separated by their own beliefs and ideologies.
Currently both teams are far from being the powerhouses they have accustomed us in the past, Benfica is in 2nd while Sporting is currently in 4th, with 5 points in between the two.
Perhaps this scenario could be like many other seasons with the 3 top teams in Portugal fighting for the league title, but that is not the case, as the giant 12 point gap between leaders Porto and second place Benfica really tell the tale of what a bad season it has been for both Sporting and Benfica.
With the league being a distant spec on the horizon, both teams are now focused on 2nd place, which will grant direct access into the Champions League, with a win Benfica can put a sizable lead between them and their rivals, with a loss, Benfica will see their error margin shrink.
Without direct consequences on the title race, the game is still a very important game for both team's European aspirations.


This season:
Sporting's home performance:
7 wins
2 ties
0 losses
21 goals scored
6 allowed

Benfica's away performance:
6 wins
3 ties
1 loss
17 goals scored
7 allowed
Benfica is the team with the most goals scored away and second best when it comes to allowing goals away.

Statistically, a very interesting match, while Benfica has done much better away than at home, Sporting has the majority of points from the results they have obtained at home. So both teams bring their strong points into this game, and something will have to give, or not. Benfica has not lost a game since the 15th of December, they will look to continue their unbeaten streak.

For this game Camacho has called the following players:

Keepers: Quim and Butt;
Defenders: Luís Filipe, Zoro, Léo, Nélson, Edcarlos and Sepsi;
Midfielders: Katsouranis, Rui Costa, Binya, Rodriguez, Nuno Assis, Maxi Pereira and Di María;
Forwards: Cardozo, Mantorras, Makukula and Adu

Luisao is still suffering from meniscus problems and did not recuperate in time. Also out of the line up are NuNo Gomes, Petit and David Luiz, all still recuperating from injuries that have kept them out in previous games.

Tough to say how Camacho will set up the team, but he will most likely go with the usual 4-2-3-1. Control of the midfield is vital in this game, and numbers in the midfield will give Benfica a better chance of doing that. Up front the lone forward will have a hard task, as he will be alone and outnumbered, his performance will depend upon how Benfica will get the ball to the center forward.

Projected line up

Quim in goal, Nelson, Edcarlos, Katsouranis and Leo on the left. In the midfield, Binya and Maxi will be in front of the defense, while Assis, Rui Costa and DiMaria will support Cardozo. Rodriguez, who is 100%, will most likely start the game from the bench, while Makukula's availability will go down to a game time decision, but he will start on the bench regardless.


Benfica will look to test Sporting's Rui patricio early, as the young keeper has had shaky moments in goal. It'll be a hard fought game, with most of the fight coming in the midfield sector. That is the one crucial sector where the game could possibly be won. On Sporting's side, Liedson and Romagnoli were confirmed absences this morning by Paulo Bento. Certainly two heavy losses for Sporting who will look to find other solutions in their attack. Heavy importance should also be given to "dead ball" situations as these have the potential to be game definers, as the teams will defensively match up well.

Playing home, Sporting will come out wanting to assume control of the game, Benfica will need to neutralize the initial push from Sporting and start defining their own flow of game, Benfica's wing play will be very important if they are to have any success, in the center of the midfield, marking will be tight, and space limited, it'll be up to Benfica's wingers to make the difference, with deep penetration and mismatches with Leo and Nelson joining the attack.


Although not a do or die game for Benfica, Benfica should still want to win this game as much as Sporting, as 3 points over one of their direct competitors is an important lead with 9 games remaining in the Bwin.



In the first round it was like this:

click on the picture to enlarge (source:zerozero.pt)

How i saw it

Highlights