Liga Betclic: Casa Pia-Benfica X-ray

Benfica's first match as visitors in the 2nd half of the Liga Betclic 2024/25 is against Casa Pia, scheduled for this Saturday, January 25, at 6 pm, at the Estádio Municipal de Rio Maior.

After the European fixture against Barcelona (4-5), and the win against Famalicão (4-0) at the start of the second half - after winning the League Cup and reaching the quarter-finals of the Portuguese Cup, against Farense –, Benfica travel to Rio Maior, the home of the Geese, with the confidence of climbing to second place in the competition in the last round, with 41 points and three off the top spot.

Casa Pia, who started the competition with three defeats - Boavista (0-1), Benfica (3-0) and Santa Clara (0-2) - have consolidated their upward trend in the league table and occupy 6th place with 27 points. The four wins and two draws in the last six games - AVS (1-1), Estoril (0-2), Arouca (3-1), Braga (1-2), Famalicão (1-1) and Boavista (2-3) - have made a decisive contribution.

Benfica and Casa Pia have played each other on 42 occasions across all competitions - 29 wins (69%) and 8 draws (19%) - but only seven league matches have taken place, with the Eagles winning six and drawing one, with a goal difference of 20 goals scored (2.86 per game) and 2 conceded (0.29 per game).

In addition to their 2nd place in the competition, Benfica have the best defense, with 11 goals conceded (0.61 per game), while Casa Pia have 22 (1.22 per game), and the second-best attack, with 42 goals scored (2.33), compared to 22 (1.22 per game) for the Pina Manique side.

Looking at the collective data of the two teams, specifically based on the figures collected on the Sofascore platform, we can see that defensively Benfica are superior in tackles (19.5 against 16.3 per game), interceptions (9.1 against 7.6 per game) and balls recovered (54.9 against 49.2 per game). The Eagles, however, see Casa Pia dominate in clearances per game (24.1 against 11.2) and in the most saves per game (3.9 against 2.1).

In duels on the ground, Benfica won 39.4 per game (49.8%), while Casa Pia won 33.2 (49.1%), but in those played in the air, the Geese lead the comparison, although the Reds are more effective: 14.1 (47.3%) against 13.9 (56.7%).

Naturally superior in terms of possession (59.6% against 46.1% per game), Benfica, in terms of passing, have more accurate passes per game (452 and 85.2% against 289 and 78.1% accuracy), more accurate passes in the final third of the pitch (245 and 75, 6% against 121 and 64.3% accuracy), more accurate crosses (6.1 and 26.3% against 3.8 and 26.3% accuracy) and more long balls, specifically 28 (60.7%) compared to 18.4 per game (44.9%) for Casa Pia.

In attacking terms, Benfica scored 35 goals inside the penalty area in 189 attempts, compared to 17 goals in 111 attempts by Casa Pia. Dominant in the number of chances per game (3.6 against 1.8), shots per game (16.8 against 10.5), shots on goal (6.5 against 3.6) and dribbles per match (9.6 and 6.7), the Reds have shown their superiority over their Lisbon rivals.

Individually, Di María and Aktürkoğlu, with 6 goals each, are Benfica's top scorers in the competition, and the Turkish international leads the way in assists (5). On the Casa Pia side, standouts include striker Cassiano, with 5 goals, and Nuno Moreira, with the same number of assists (5).