Liga Betclic: Benfica-Chaves X-ray

This Friday, March 29, Benfica hosts Chaves (6 pm), on matchday 27 of the Liga Betclic, and kicks off another intense competitive cycle. The clash with the last-placed team in the competition is the first match after the international break and precedes a month of April in which the Eagles will play seven matches in three different competitions.

The final window for national team matches until the end of the club calendar for the 2023/24 season is behind us. From now on, there will be moments of high competitive intensity and decision-making.

Chaves, currently in 18th place, is Benfica's first obstacle. They will be at the Estádio da Luz with 19 points and four away from a play-off with the third-placed team in Liga 2.

With only one win away from home, at Arouca (0-2) on matchday 7, the Trás-os-Montes side is one of the worst away teams, having taken seven points from 13 games. Only Estoril has fewer points in this context, with six points collected at the start of matchday 27. And in front of them is a Benfica team with 11 wins and two draws in 13 games at the Cathedral, where they have conceded six goals.

Chaves is coming off the back of two home defeats, against Arouca (1-5) and Vitória SC (1-2), and a draw away to Gil Vicente (0-0). In their last three official games, Benfica has beaten Estoril (3-1), Rangers (0-1) and Casa Pia (0-1).

This will be the 39th clash between Benfica and Chaves. The Reds have 30 wins (79%) and four draws (11%) in all competitions. In the National Championship, the two clubs have met on 35 occasions, with the Eagles coming out on top in 27 duels (77%), drawing four (11%). As visitors, Benfica has won 15 games (88%) and drawn two (12%) in 17 encounters.

This season, the Glorioso faced the "flavienses" on matchday 10 of the Liga Betclic, in Trás-os-Montes, and won (0-2), with goals from Aursnes and João Mário.

At the start of matchday 27, Benfica, compared to Chaves, is still the team with the most shots in the competition (411 against 268), the team with the most one-on-one and dribbling actions (870 against 615), the team with the second most crosses (474 against 408) and the team with the second most corner kicks per 90 minutes (6.31 against 4.16), according to data from the Wyscout platform.

Benfica is also the team with the best percentage of shots on target (43.1% against 34%). When it comes to dribbling, the Chaves players, despite the lower number of attempts, succeeded 56.3% of the time, which is the 3rd best record of the teams in the competition, compared to 52.3% for the Reds.

Dominant in the passing department (14,375 against 8,747), Benfica, as well as being the team in the competition with the highest number of passes, is also the most successful, with 86.8% effectiveness, compared to 80.1% for the "flavienses" - who are second only to Farense and Estrela da Amadora. In terms of possession, Benfica has an average of 58.1% per game, compared to 45.2% for Chaves.

While Benfica has the second-best defense in the competition (21 goals conceded), Chaves is the team with the most goals conceded (56 goals), as a result of the 352 shots conceded so far.

Individually, Rafa is the player with the most assists in the competition (11), while Neres is in 3rd place (8). The No 27 is also the Eagles' top scorer in the competition, with 12 goals, while for Chaves that status goes to Héctor Hernández, with 13 goals.

Di María shares with Francisco Moura (Famalicão) the status of player with the most crosses in the competition (122), and is the fifth player with the most one-on-one and dribbling actions (145). Rafa remains the player with the second most touches in the opposing penalty area (141).

In the last matchday of the Liga Betclic, MD 26, at Casa Pia, coach Roger Schmidt opted for an eleven made up of Trubin, Bah, António Silva, Otamendi, Aursnes, Florentino, João Neves, Di María, João Mário, Rafa and Marcos Leonardo. António Silva won't be available for the match against "flavienses" due to the accumulation of five yellow cards in the competition, thus serving a one-match suspension.

Moreno Teixeira, coach of Chaves, in the 1-2 home defeat against Vitória SC in the final round of the Championship, presented the team organized in a 3x4x3, with the following formation: Hugo Souza, Ygor Nogueira, Vasco Fernandes, Júnior Pius, Carraça, Essugo, Guima, Benny, Rúben Ribeiro, Guzzo and Héctor Hernández.