Benfica welcome arch rivals Porto to the Estádio da Luz in the Portuguese capital on Saturday evening with an eye on further cementing their current domination of domestic football.
The reigning champions have won their three matches this season by a combined total of 12-0 and victory in Lisbon will open up an early 6-point gap between the two teams and reduce the already short odds on the Eagles making in six titles in seven years come May 2020.
Porto showed signs of recovery from a poor start to the season last weekend though, with a thumping 4-0 win over Vitória de Setúbal. Sérgio Conceição and his team will view the match as an opportunity to show onlookers they are ready to fight to reclaim their place at the top of the football tree in Portugal.
PortuGOAL previews the eagerly awaited first Clássico of the 2019/20 league season.
Backdrop
Benfica are in a good place right now. A strong pre-season has been followed up by a faultless start to the new campaign. After thumping cross-city rivals Sporting 5-0 in the Super Cup, Benfica began their defence of the Portuguese title with another 5-0 victory, over Paços de Ferreira, before seeing off last season’s nemesis Belenenses 2-0 at Jamor.
Coach Bruno Lage continues to have the Midas touch. Since taking over in January this year, his team has returned the astonishing record of 20 victories and 1 draw in 21 Primeira Liga matches. What’s more, they have done so with aplomb, scoring goals galore and adopting an ultra-attacking demeanour, even when facing their strongest rivals – a philosophy that sets Lage apart from his more circumspect predecessor Rui Vitória and which helps explain the young coach’s huge popularity among the Benfica faithful. There is little doubt that Benfica will be on the front foot from the kick off on Saturday.
Porto are still licking their wounds from failure to clinch a second successive title last season. A seemingly unassailable lead of seven points at Christmas should have been enough, even accounting for Benfica’s resurgence, but a series of unexpected dropped points meant the Dragons had to settle for runners-up spot. Defeat in the Portuguese Cup final to Sporting and two shock losses at the start of the season, the second one costing the club its Champions League place, has ratcheted up the pressure on coach Sérgio Conceição. Porto have already dropped three points this season, and while falling six points behind the leaders cannot be considered a disaster with 31 matches remaining, it is a scenario the Dragons will be desperate to avoid.
But there are rays of sunshine amid the gloom. Cape Verdean centre-forward Zé Luís will be full of confidence having hit a tremendous hat-trick one week ago, fellow new signings Agustín Marchesín, Matheus Uribe and Luis Díaz have also impressed and returning centre-back Iván Marcano has been playing like he never left.
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Team news and tactics
Benfica: Brazilian midfielder Gabriel is out injured for Benfica, meaning Samaris and Florentino are likely to resume the partnership that flourished last season when the Brazilian was again injured, maintaining Lage’s 4-4-2. The rest of the side picks itself. Veteran right-back André Almeida has resumed full training after weeks out injured, but youngster Nuno Tavares will likely keep his place, while up front Seferovic will be keen to recapture his form from last season.
Benfica’s dangermen this season have been Pizzi and Rafa, the duo accounting for 7 goals and 6 assists in three matches. Rafa’s lighting speed and mesmerising dribbling skills could be a problem for Porto’s right-hand side of defence, with no occupant of the right-back position convincing so far. A possible surprise inclusion would be midfielder Chiquinho in place of the misfiring Seferovic given the sparkling cameos played so far by the ex Moreirense man.
Porto: Also setting up 4-4-2, perhaps the main talking point regarding Porto’s line-up is whether Sérgio Conceição will maintain winger-turned right-back Jesús Corona in the back four. The talented winger has accumulated experience as a defender last season and this, but playing him in the toughest fixture of the season is a decision that will be described as brave or foolish, depending on how it turns out. That said, the alternatives for what has become a problem position lend weight to the argument to start Corona there, with both Renzo Saravia and Wilson Manafá having a shaky start to the season, and Conceição so far unwilling to trust talented youngster Tomás Esteves, although the 17-year-old is in the squad.
Further up the pitch Danilo and Uribe will resume what looks like a promising partnership at the base of midfield, with Díaz on the left, but who will occupy the right-hand side of midfield is far more difficult to forecast. With Japanese star Shoya Nakajima away in his home country to witness the birth of his child, Sérgio Oliveira and Otávio are candidates that offer more creativity, but it would not be a surprise to see Conceição plump for the more workmanlike Romário Baró, who has shown maturity beyond his years to force himself into team despite still being a teenager. The fact so much of Benfica’s attacking momentum comes from their left flank – through Grimaldo and Rafa – is another reason why the more defensively sturdy Baró may be picked.
Up front the battle that pitches Zé Luís and Moussa Marega against Rúben Dias and Ferro promises fireworks.
May the best side win!
Quote / unquote
Benfica coach, Bruno Lage: "Nothing will be decided after three rounds of games and a good example of that is what happened last season. What I’d like to see is a great game of football."
Porto coach, Sérgio Conceição: "Benfica have probably one their best squads of the last few years. That said, perhaps their adversaries haven’t been able to exploit their weak points, which all teams have."
Predicted starting line-ups
Benfica: Vlachodimos, Nuno Tavares, Rúben Dias, Ferro, Grimaldo, Samaris, Florentino, Pizzi, Rafa, Raúl de Tomás, Seferovic
Porto: Marchesín, Corona, Pepe, Marcano, Alex Telles, Danilo, Uribe, Romário Baró, Luis Díaz, Marega, Zé Luís
By Tom Kundert
