Liga Bwin: X-ray of the Paços de Ferreira-Benfica match

On a game from matchday 20 of the Liga Bwin, Benfica will lock horns with Paços de Ferreira, at 8:15 pm on Thursday, January 26, at the Estádio Capital do Móvel.

With the first half of the season concluded, the Reds will play their second consecutive game away from home, after the triumph in the Azores, against Santa Clara (0-3). Leaders of the competition with 44 points, four more than SC Braga, which occupies second place, Roger Schmidt's men face the bottom-placed team in what will be the 57th official match between the two teams.

In the fight to avoid relegation, the team under César Peixoto, a former Benfica player, has six points and, in League matches, has an unfavorable record, as the Reds have won 39 (83%) of the 47 games played. In the global chapter of goals, the difference is equally remarkable: Benfica has 124 strikes, while Paços de Ferreira scored 35 goals in League matches.

Looking at the current season, the Reds have the best attack (43 goals) and Gonçalo Ramos is still the top scorer, as he hit the opponent's nets a dozen times, the last time against Santa Clara.

The team from the Capital do Móvel is on the opposite end, with just 12 goals scored, that is, it has the worst attack of the competition.

Defensively, the panorama is similar. The 32 goals conceded make Paços de Ferreira the least consistent team in the backline. On the contrary, with 12 goals conceded, Benfica has the second-best defense.

According to the collective numbers from the Wyscout platform, the differences between the two teams are evident in ball possession, an item in which the leaders of the league table have an average of 64.1% against 42.9% of Paços de Ferreira.

In the number of shots, Benfica totals 291 (second team with the most shots carried out, behind SC Braga with 309) and the next opponent comes into this round with 167. First in the parameter of crosses (380 against 268 of Paços de Ferreira), also in passes made (10,469 against 6,261) the team led by Roger Schmidt prevails the lead.

In a detailed analysis of passes, the reds also occupy the top position in those that were decisive, with 120, 82 more than the pacenses. The same situation is verified in the passes into the final third (1256 against 788), favorable to Benfica.

In the defensive process, the eagles remain as the team that allows the fewest shots (102) in the competition, an item in which Paços de Ferreira is the sixth most vulnerable team (236), which is equivalent to an average of 12.66 per game compared to 5.49 for the Reds.

As for the defensive duels in the Liga, the reds have 1178 against 1103 from Paços. On Thursday, January 26, Benfica, the second team that commits the fewest fouls in the national competition (212), will face the fourth placed team in this ranking (251, average of 13.46 fouls per game).

In the last match, against SC Braga, for matchday 17 of the Championship, Paços de Ferreira was defeated at home (1-2) and played in 4x3x3. Marafona, Juan Delgado, Nuno Lima, Maracás, Luís Bastos, Jordan Holsgrove, Rui Pires, Luiz Carlos, Gaitán, Alexandre Guedes and  Uilton Silva the players chosen by César Peixoto.