The last week has been difficult for Benfica fans, and things won’t get easier Sunday night. Carlos Carvalhal’s squad arrives at the Estádio da Luz in good form and has a recent history in the Portuguese capital that will motivate them.
Winless in their last three matches in all competitions, the encarnados are looking to right the ship. A goal conceded late against Estoril last time out dropped Benfica to third-place, one point behind Sporting and Porto.
Since the emphatic win at home against Barcelona, some will say that the team has hit a roadblock of sorts. I’d argue that the team still looks the same; chances are being created, the biggest issue being physical and not tactical.
You can point the finger at Jorge Jesus for his lack of rotation, which is acceptable, but the idea of the sky falling is far from the truth.
Conceding five in Munich didn’t help the spirits from the outside, and now the squad has their chance to get back to winning ways. Not only can they silence the typical critics, but they also have the opportunity to silence the stories in the press.
The last five meetings between the two clubs in all competitions have been much better for the Minhotos. Four wins from five, and the visitors have won their previous two at the Estádio da Luz in the Portuguese League.
Goals conceded have been an issue of late for the Benfica backline, but of their 13 conceded, only one was in league play. Jorge Jesus’ side remains the second-best defense in the league, with six goals conceded in 10 matches.
On the other side, Braga has the fourth-best attack (16 goals), whereas Benfica is the second-best (21 goals). Braga isn’t far off from the Lisbon side in terms of goals conceded, having conceded eight. They’ve also only conceded more than one goal in league play three times.
With a few more days’ rest, Benfica has its back against the wall in this match. Not necessarily because they are so far behind their rivals, but more so because some of the recent results and performances will demand a response.
Braga has alternated between a 3x4x3, and a 4x2x3x1, the latter used in their most recent win at home against Portimonense. Two players to keep a close eye on for the visitors are Ricardo Horta and Iuri Medeiros, both having four goals in the league.
Yaremchuk and Darwin Nunez also have four goals in league play, but from Jorge Jesus’ pre-match press conference, he may have dropped a hint that one of them may not feature from the start.
The Ukrainian striker hasn’t found the back of the net since Benfica’s 1-3 win in Guimarāes. Many questions have been asked about his partnership with Darwin and if it is working. Could we see a partnership of Yaremchuk and Gonçalo Ramos on Sunday?
Regardless of who is in the starting XI, Benfica could find themselves up to four points back of the top spot by the time the match kicks off Sunday night. Fans will be expecting a solid performance and a positive result to kick off a string of challenging matches on the horizon.
Anything less than three points in this match, regardless of the performance, could have a massive psychological impact on the squad, and the fans.
How do you feel about the match? Confident? Uncertain? Leave your thoughts and prediction in the comments below.
