Boavista - Benfica Preview

With Guimaraes having tied their game this past Friday, Benfica has a chance to take sole possession of second place, but for that, they will have to beat Boavista away, this Sunday.
Playing at the Bessa stadium, is never an easy task, Jaime Pacheco's men are currently in 10th place with a record of 7 wins, 7 losses and 10 ties, with 6 of those wins coming at home. Benfica comes into the game with the second best defense and the second best attack of the Bwin, they will be hoping that they can add another "second", with a win and subsequent passing of Guimaraes who up until Friday shared second place with Benfica.


For the game against Boavista, Chalana has called the following:

Keepers: Quim and Moreira;
Defenders: Luís Filipe, Nelson, Léo, Luisão, Edcarlos and Sepsi;
Midfielders: Petit, Katsoutanis, Rui Costa, Cristian Rodríguez, Maxi Pereira and Binya;
Forwards: Nuno Gomes, Mantorras, Di María and Cardozo.

Moreira makes his return to the game roster, in detriment of Butt, as the German had some physical problems this past week. Luisao seems to have recuperated in full, and is now an option for Chalana. Makukula was the man who made way for Luisao. Freddy Adu continues to not be an option for Chalana.

The starting 11 chosen by Chalana shouldn't be too far from the following 11 with the possibility of a change or two.
Quim will be in goal; Nelson, Luisao and Leo will be in the back with one of the doubts falling on who will be Luisao's partner. Chalana might opt for keeping Katsouranis in the back, relegating Edcarlos to the bench, or, keep Edcarlos in the back and move Katsouranis into the midfield, in the spot of Maxi, to bring more consistency to the midfield. Those are two of the possibilities. In the midfield, it's safe to assume that Petit, Rui Costa and Rodriguez will all get the start, with the 4th midfielder depending on where Katsouranis will play. Up Front it'll be Nuno Gomes and Cardozo.

Despite beating Boavista 6-1 in the first round, Benfica knows that this Boavista team, is a different team, as they have developed as a team and have put an impressive run together, with 6 wins and 4 ties in their last 12 games. With the league winding down, Benfica's games have all taken a great degree of importance, as Benfica will need to win the remainder of their games, if they are to lock up second place.

Knowing that they will have a chance to take over second place, Benfica should be motivated for a game in which only a win is an acceptable result. The team comes off an impressive win against P.Ferreira and will look to build up on their steady improvement since Chalana took over. With the defense getting back one of their key components, Benfica should be a stronger team. The stage is set, and the result can very well be a defining moment for this end of season push.

Last Round it was like this:

ZeroZero.pt - Game Card

How i saw it with Highlights