Liga Betclic: Santa Clara-Benfica X-ray

Having beaten Monaco in the first leg of the Champions League play-off (0-1), Benfica are back in the Liga Betclic. This Saturday, February 15, at 6:00 pm on the mainland (17:00 in the Azores), the eagles play Santa Clara in Ponta Delgada, their opponents on matchday 22 of the Championship.

At Estádio de São Miguel, the aim is to pick up three more points. Isolated in 2nd place, four points behind the leaders, Benfica face one of the teams that have surprised the most in this 2024/25 season, still in 5th place in the competition.

This will be Bruno Lage's reunion with the opponent against whom he made his debut on his return to Estádio da Luz: on September 14 last year, the coach led the Reds to 4-1 win, at the Cathedral on matchday 5, with Aktürkoğlu, Florentino, António Silva and Di María scoring for the Eagles in response to an early goal from Vinícius Lopes.

After beating Moreirense (3-2) on the previous matchday, Benfica will be meeting the Azoreans for the third time this season, given that the two sides have already met in the quarter-finals of the League Cup, where the Eagles also won, 3-0 (Pavlidis' brace plus a Di María goal).

In the 19 matches between the two sides, Benfica have won 16 times (84%) and drawn 2 (11%), scoring 45 goals and conceding 12.

In the Azores, the Eagles scored 18 times (an average of 2.25 per game), while Santa Clara scored just three goals (0.38 per game).

Benfica and Santa Clara go into this match separated by 9 points in the standings, and the teams are also different in several respects. On average, the eagles express their dominating type of football with more possession (59.3% compared to 44.5%), they finish more, not only in quantity (16.5 to 11.4) but also on target (6.5 to 4), according to data from the Sofascore platform.

In terms of passing efficiency, the Reds outscore their rivals (85% to the Azoreans' 75.8%), while they remain superior in aerial duels (57.2% to 53.1%).

The differences are equally noticeable in accurate long balls, a parameter in which the Eagles outperform their rivals with an average of 27.9 per game, compared to 15.7 for the Azoreans.

In terms of accurate crosses and corners, the reds also lead (5.9 per challenge against 4.1; and 7.3 to 4.3 for their next rivals, respectively). In terms of successful dribbles, Benfica's dominance continues: an average of 9.2 to the Azoreans' 6.7.

In the Azores, Bruno Lage's men will face the most yellow-carded team in the competition (69 yellow cards compared to 43 for the Eagles), while Santa Clara, coached by Vasco Matos, are the second most fouled team (average of 15.6 offenses per match). Benfica are at the opposite end with 11.2.

Defensively, Benfica have more balls recovered (54.6 against 48.3 per game), as well as more interceptions (9.4 against 8.9). The eagles also have a better record in tackles, with an average of 19.4 per game compared to 16.8 for Santa Clara.

Individually, the eagles' top scorers in the league are Di María, Pavlidis and Bruma - the latter's goals were for SC Braga - with seven strikes, while Vinícius Lopes scored the most for Santa Clara (also seven times).

When it comes to shots on target, Aktürkoğlu has the most (1.1), with Gabriel Silva following him at Saturday's opponents (1). At Santa Clara, Vinícius Lopes is the main creator of great chances so far (6), with Bruma (12), Di María and Aktürkoğlu (both 10) leading the way.

In the defensive process, Florentino is the eagle who stands out most in terms of tackles (52). In interceptions, Otamendi has 37 (he ranks 2nd) compared to 32 for Sidney Lima, Santa Clara's best player.