Benfica - Napoli Preview

Benfica will play their UEFA Cup future this Thursday when they face Napoli at Estadio da Luz. Napoli brings in a 3-2 aggregate and know that the fixture is far from over.

Since the last time we saw Napoli, 15 days ago, Napoli has not lost a game, tying Udinese and beating Palermo and Bologna. They are currently 2nd in the Serie A, and despite having only played 5 games, they are quickly becoming one of Serie A's surprises.
They come into Estadio da Luz well aware that this game is the most important game of their short season so far, and that they are only 90 minutes away from advancing to the group stages of the UEFA.
On the other hand, Benfica will look to build up on their home triumph over arch-rivals Sporting this past weekend, and continuing their trek to the round of 16, which was the goal set at the beginning of the season.
Benfica has made a significant financial investment in players this season, and an early exit from European competition would see Benfica miss out on income that could cover some of that investment.

Here's Quique's game roster list:

Keepers: Moreira and Quim;
Defenders: Luisão, Léo, Maxi Pereira, Jorge Ribeiro, Sidnei and Miguel Vítor;
Midfielders: Katsouranis, Aimar, Ruben Amorim, Binya, Carlos Martins and Yebda;
Forwards: Balboa, Urreta, Reyes, Di María, Nélson Oliveira e Nuno Gomes.

Luisao makes his return to the roster sheet, as he is eligible to play in the UEFA Cup. David Luiz continues to recuperate from his injury. In the midfield, Fellipe Bastos continues to not be an option, in a midfield, where are a lot of players for the defensive midfield slot. Balboa and Urreta make their return to the game roster. With the shortage of available forwards, Quique has called Nelson Oliveira, the 17 year old who did all of pre-season camp. Cardozo is serving the last game of his suspension, Suazo is hurt, Makukula and Mantorras were not signed with UEFA. Benfica is allowed to bring up a junior in case of an injury, if i'm not mistaken.





Based on this, here's my projected line up:

Quim in goal. Maxi, Luisao, Sidnei and Ribeiro in the back. Yebda, Katsouranis in the middle, Martins on the right, Reyes on the left. DiMaria supporting Nuno Gomes.

Despite Miguel Vitor and Sidnei having played well together, I expect Quique to start Luisao next to Sidnei. Quique has mentioned in an interview how Luisao is a player that understands exactly what he wants from the team, and knows how to communicate it on the field. Jorge Ribeiro will most likely be on the left, but i wouldn't exclude Leo just yet. Ribeiro brings something that Leo does not bring, and that is the long range shot, I think that is the very reason why at this time Quique is favoring the Portuguese international.
The midfield, will continue to present doubts. Aside from Yebda and Reyes, who are the indisputable owners of their positions, there's a doubt in regards to Martins and Katsouranis.
Katsouranis' entrance against Sporting seemed to have given Benfica's midfield a new dimension. His start in the middle based on what he brought the team against Sporting is justified. But how do we know that wasn't a case of circumstance? In my opinion, I think that Katsouranis is able to give Benfica that dimension regardless what the circumstances are. His ability to read the game and his positioning gives Yebda more freedom to advance, while with Martins, Yebda is limited to how much he can advance.
With Katsouranis in the middle, Martins will most likely be on the right. I have my doubts about how productive he can be on the right, but a player of his talent shouldn't have too much difficulty in that role. Here's the other thing, playing on the right, Martins will have the tendency to drift inwards, which could cause for the right side(Napoli's left) to be the exit point of Napoli's transition. Either Katsouranis or Maxi will need to fill in that hole.
Up front, Nuno Gomes is the sure thing, as he is the only forward available to play this game. The decision on who will support him, will come down to a game time decision. As of this morning, Aimar is still racing against the clock to recuperate in time. I don't believe Quique will start him. DiMaria should get another chance to start. Last time he started was against Napoli. He has come off the bench these past couple of games, it's hard to think that he will not be "hungry" to start. Question is, how will he respond? Will it be gold medal DiMaria? Or inconsequent DiMaria?

Expect a good crowd, not a sell out, but a good crowd nonetheless. It's important for the team to start well to get the crowd behind them. The team needs to give the crowd the impression that they can win this game, if they can do that the crowd will carry them through. Napoli will come out compact and will play mainly on the counter. They will play a very patient game, but will launch into the attack with speed, trying to take advantage of Benfica's eagerness to get on the scoreboard. It's that same eagerness that Quique needs to control, it's a 90 minute game, and all Benfica needs is 1 goal. Benfica should not rush things, and play a patient game, opportunities will come. Possession is key as well as accuracy in the pass. Lost balls in the midfield will allow Napoli to come out on the quick counter, they have very quick players, and that will be their way to get into the attack.

Stating how important this game is, would be an understatement. Aside from the financial aspect, not making it to the next round would be a big blow to Benfica's project. Logically, a team of Benfica's potential and history should be in the top 10 teams in this competition, regardless of what teams are in it this year.

Let's hope the team can come out firing and that the night turns out to be like the many glorious European nights.

CARREGA BENFICA!!