Champions League: Benfica-Monaco X-ray

Coming off the back of a 0-1 triumph in the first leg of the Champions League play-off, Benfica will take to the pitch at the Estádio da Luz at 8pm on Tuesday, February 18, with an advantage over Monaco in the fight for a place in the last 16 of the competition.

The aforementioned victory on Wednesday, February 12, with a goal from Pavlidis, confirmed the Eagles' favorable record: they have won 3 (2 of them this season) and drawn 1, in the 4 clashes with the club from Principality, all for the biggest European club competition.

Heading into the second leg of the Champions League play-offs, Benfica have 5 wins, 1 draw and 3 defeats in 9 games, while Monaco come to the Cathedral with 4 wins, 1 draw and 4 defeats in this edition of the competition. In terms of goals, the Glorioso have 17 scored against 12 conceded, while the Monegasques have a negative record in this respect: 13 goals scored and 14 conceded.

Looking at the statistics provided by UEFA, Monaco have more attacks than Benfica (357 against 352), but the Reds have the edge in most of the offensive parameters: they are superior in the total number of shots (128 against 104), attempts on target (52 against 39) and crosses made (37 against 29).

With 6 goals scored in this edition of the Champions League, Pavlidis is the Glorioso's top scorer and also the player with the most shots (23), while Akliouche has a similar status in the opposition: 18 attempts and 2 goals, the same as teammates Minamino and Singo.

On the other hand, the Ligue 1 side, in 4th place, 16 points behind leaders Paris Saint-Germain, are superior in terms of percentage of possession (50.1%-45.5%) and total number of passes: 3914, with 82.1% effectiveness, compared to 3833 for the Eagles, who have a success rate of 81.5%.

With 450 against Kehrer's 397, Otamendi is the player from both teams with the most successful passes. When it comes to assists, Di María and Bah (for Benfica) and Embolo and Kehrer (for Monaco), all with two in the competition, lead this particular ranking for each of the teams.

Benfica's captain, Otamendi also stands out in ball recoveries, totaling 67 out of 411 for Bruno Lage's team in the competition, while Vanderson leads Monaco in this area, with 63 out of a total of 415. With 155 tackles against 129 for their opponents, the Eagles have counted Florentino as their leader in this area: 17 against Vanderson's 9.

In goal, Trubin (who has played a total of minutes in the Champions League) has 31 saves against the 27 made by Majecki and Kohn, who have already defended the Monegasque goal in the competition. The Benfica goalkeeper also has four clean sheets, against two for his opponents.

It's worth noting that, compared to the starting eleven used in the first leg at the Stade Louis II, both teams have players out due to suspension. Florentino will serve a one-match suspension for yellow card accumulation, while Al Musrati (sent off in the first leg), Vanderson and captain Zakaria (3rd yellow card in Monaco) will not be part of Adi Hütter's options.