Liga Betclic: Gil Vicente-Benfica X-ray

This Friday, March 28, against Gil Vicente, at 8:15 pm, at the Estádio Cidade de Barcelos, Benfica will settle the Liga Betclic schedule, playing the match from round 24 of the competition.

With 6 wins in the last 6 rounds of the Liga Betclic - the last of which in Vila do Conde, against Rio Ave (2-3) –, Benfica resume official competitions, after the international break, with the possibility of reaching first place in the league, as they have 59 points and are three off the top.

It will be the 53rd clash between Benfica and Gil Vicente, the 48th in the National Championship and the 25th played in Minho - there has also been one on a neutral pitch. Overall, the Eagles won 39 games (75%) and drew 7 (13%), with 35 wins (74%) and 6 draws (13%) in the major domestic competition. As visitors in the league, Benfica have won 17 of their 23 matches (74%) and drawn 4 (17%).

In total, Benfica scored 108 goals in 52 games (2.08 per game) and conceded 32 (0.62 per game). This season, Benfica beat Gil Vicente 5-1 at the Estádio da Luz on matchday 7 of the Liga Betclic.

The Reds come into the league fixture with one of the best defenses (20 goals conceded) and one of the best attacks in the competition (59 goals), while the 14th-placed team has a negative balance between goals scored (24) and conceded (37).

Gil Vicente has gone seven games without a win in the Liga Betclic, with just one draw (against Estrela da Amadora) and six defeats, the last of which was at home to Santa Clara (0-1) on matchday 26 under César Peixoto.

Looking at the collective data of the two teams, Benfica come into this match with an average of 59.7% possession per game, compared to Gil Vicente's 51.8%, and they largely dominate when it comes to shots. According to the statistics from the Sofascore platform, the Eagles have an average of 17.3 shots per game, compared to Gil Vicente's 9.6. Gil Vicente also falls short in shots on target (2.8 per game) compared to Benfica (7.1 per game).

In terms of passing efficiency, the Reds prevail over their rivals (85% against 83%), as well as in successful dribbles per game (9.5 against 6.6). Still in offensive terms, the average number of corner kicks per match is in Benfica's favor (7.5 vs. 3.9), as are accurate long balls (26.6 vs. 21.2 on average) and accurate crosses (26.1% vs. 20.5%).

Benfica, on average, wins more duels per game (53.4 and 52% effectiveness compared to 50.3 and 51.2%), wins more aerial duels (14.4 per game and 56.7% effectiveness compared to 12.6 and 48.2%), records more tackles per game (18.8 compared to 15.5) and more recoveries (54.1 compared to 45.4).

Individually, Pavlidis is Benfica's top scorer with 10 goals. Bruma and Aktürkoğlu stand out as the players with the most assists (6), while Belotti is the eagles' player with the most shots on target per game (2) and a higher total shots average (3.2). Bruma, with an average of 2.4 successful dribbles per match (62% effectiveness), is the Benfica player with the highest success rate in this parameter.

Among the Gil Vicente players, Félix Correia is the top scorer with 6 goals and Fujimoto is the player with the most assists (4), who also has the highest average number of shots per match (1.5 per game).