Liga Betclic: X-ray of the Benfica-Casa Pia clash

Benfica hosts Casa Pia at 6 pm on Saturday, October 28, on matchday 9 of the Liga Betclic. The eagles go into the game aiming to win their 8th in a row and cement their best run in the league.

On the back of seven wins in eight games, Roger Schmidt's side are close to the Liga Betclic lead with 21 points, while Filipe Martins' side are 10th with nine points, thanks to two wins and three draws.

Benfica and Casa Pia have played each other on 39 occasions, with the Reds having the upper hand: 27 wins and seven draws. Last season (2022/23), the clash between the two teams at the Estádio da Luz ended in a 3-0 win to the hosts, thanks to two goals from João Mário and another from Bah.

Leading the competition in possession percentage, with 61.5% compared to 47.9% for their rivals, Benfica are also in 1st place in the Wyscout platform's rankings for touches inside the opponent's penalty area (243) and dribbles (289), although Casa Pia have a higher success rate in the latter: 62% compared to 50.9%.

The Eagles are also the team with the most shots (142, with 35.9% hitting the target), while Casa Pia has just 89, with 31.5% hitting the target.

On the Eagles' side, Di María is the top scorer in the competition with five goals, while Clayton is the Casa Pia's top scorer with three goals.

Benfica are also the team with the most passes in the league (4,717, with 86.7% effectiveness), while Casa Pia have just 2,844 passes, with 80.2% accuracy. The tendency for Filipe Martins' side to play a more direct game is reinforced by the 63 longa passes attempted, the 2nd highest record in the Liga Betclic.

Roger Schmidt's side have the highest number of passes (562) and the highest efficiency rate (77.6%) in passes into the final third, compared to Casa Pia's 375, with a 60.8% success rate.

With four assists each, Rafa and Neres are the top assist providers of the Liga Betclic, while Pablo Roberto stands out the most in this chapter for Casa Pia, with two.

In terms of defending, the national champions are ahead of their next opponents in the percentage of defensive duels won (61.7% against 59.1%) and aerial duels won (44.1% against 42.9%).

In terms of intensity, Benfica is among the best teams in the Liga Betclic, with 6.5 duels and interceptions per minute of possession from the opponent, while Casa Pia is on 5.4.

In the last game, against Real Sociedad in the Champions League, Roger Schmidt put Trubin, Bah, António Silva, Otamendi, Jurásek, João Neves, Aursnes, Neres, João Mário, Rafa and Musa into the starting eleven.

Casa Pia played in a 3x4x3 formation with Lucas Paes, João Nunes, Fernando Varela, Zolotic, André Geraldes, Ângelo Neto, Pablo Roberto, Tiago Dias, Serobyan, Clayton and Soma in the win over Rabo de Peixe (0-2), in the 3rd round of the Portuguese Cup.