Liga Bwin: X-ray of the Vizela-Benfica clash

Benfica travels to Vizela's home ground on matchday 22 of the Liga Bwin and the kick-off is scheduled for 8:30 pm on Saturday, February 25. Looking for another victory, the leader will face an opponent that has taken 10 points out of a possible 12 in the last four home games. 

The obstacle called Boavista (3-1) was left behind in the last round of the Liga Bwin and Benfica goes again to Minho with a winning streak, based on five consecutive triumphs in the Championship (Santa Clara, Paços de Ferreira, Arouca, Casa Pia and Boavista), while Vizela registered only one victory in the same set of rounds, specifically at home against Rio Ave (3-1) on matchday 18.

Now coached by Tulipa (in the reverse fixture in Lisbon, the coach was Álvaro Pacheco), Vizela is having a quiet campaign and currently occupies the 9th position in the league table with 26 points, as a result of seven wins, five draws and nine defeats. With 30 more points (56 in total), above and at the top of the Liga Bwin, lies Benfica.

Looking at the numbers, from a statistical point of view, and consulting the Wyscout platform, we understand that, at the beginning of the round, the best attack (Benfica, with 54 goals) will face the sixth-best defense of the competition (Vizela, with 21 goals conceded).

Benfica even has the top scorer of the competition: Gonçalo Ramos, with 13 goals.  It should also be said that João Mário appears in 2nd position, with 12 goals.

Despite having the seventh-best attack (23 goals), the "vizelenses" are the team with the least ball possession (40.1%) among the 18 teams in the Liga Bwin. On the other hand, Benfica is the leader of this ranking, with 64.5%.

Still in offensive terms, the reds lead in touches in the penalty box (575 against 332), in crosses (482 against 278) and are the second-most shooting team in the competition (340 shots). In this parameter, highlight for the fact that Vizela presents itself as the team that shot the most without counting the top five (272 shots).

The great value of Saturday's rival appears in the defensive chapter. The team coached by Tulipa is in the top 5 in terms of intercepted shots (81 against 36), defensive duels (1519 against 1483), aerial duels (918 against 649), and interceptions (1023 against 706). Being the second team with more yellow cards (71), one can see that it is an aggressive team.

In Vizela's last match (a one-goal draw against Gil Vicente in Barcelos), Tulipa used the following line-up, based on a 3x4x3: Buntic, Anderson Jesus, Bruno Wilson, Ivanildo Fernandes, Igor Julião, Claudemir, Osama Rashid, Kiki Afonso, Nuno Moreira, Kiko Bondoso and Osmajic.