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

In the antepenultimate clash for the Liga Bwin 2022/23, leader Benfica will travel Portimonense's home ground this Saturday, May 13, at 6 pm, at the Portimão Estádio, on matchday 32 of the competition.

The current cycle of triumphs for the eagles already has three stages overcome, namely Estoril (1-0), Gil Vicente (0-2) and Braga (1-0). In the last three rounds of the competition, Portimonense registered a home win against Gil Vicente (1-0), an away defeat against SC Braga (4-1) and an away draw against Casa Pia (1-1).

Looking at the standings of the competition they have led since the beginning, Benfica reached the 80-point barrier with the victory against the "bracarenses", keeping a four-point lead over the 2nd place, which means they are two wins away from becoming the national champion. On the other side, Portimonense has already reached the goal of the season, which was avoiding relegation. They are in the 13th position, with 34 points.

This will be the 50th official match between the two teams in all competitions, and the balance is largely in favor of the eagles. As far as the National Championship is concerned, the Reds have won 31 games (79%), drawn six (15%) and lost two (5%).

The reds have the best attack of the competition (72 goals scored), while Portimonense only managed to surpass Paços de Ferreira and Santa Clara (24 goals scored). Defensively, the men under Roger Schmidt remain as the best defense (17 against 40) and the second team with more ball possession (61.2% versus 48.5% of the team from Algarve).

João Mário and Gonçalo Ramos, both with 17 goals, continue to lead the list of the top scorers of the League, while Portimonense has in Welinton Júnior, with six goals, its top scorer in the competition.

According to the Wyscout platform, Benfica is the second team in the League with more shots (486 against the 341 of Portimonense), with a percentage of 39.1% on target, compared to Portimonense's 32.3%, the third-worst record in the competition. 

In the defensive aspect, Portimonense is the second team in the League that concedes the most shots, and, on the contrary, Benfica is the one that allows the fewest (463 against 201; 13.5 against 5.94 per game).

Being a predominant team when it comes to possession, Benfica records more passes (18,417 against 11,669, 87.4% success rate against 81.4%) and more through passes (303 and 34.3% success rate against 170 and 35.9% success rate).

On matchday 31 of the League, in the away match against Casa Pia, Portimonense, playing in 3x4x3, fielded the following starting lineup: Nakamura, Alemão, Pedrão, Park Ji-soo, Moufi, Maurício, Carlinhos, Filipe Relvas, Rui Gomes, Yony González and Welinton Júnior.