Liga Betclic: Vitória SC-Benfica X-ray

This Saturday, April 19, Benfica visit Vitória SC on matchday 30 of the Liga Betclic. The Reds continue the fight for their 39th national championship title at 8:30 pm at the Estádio D. Afonso Henriques.

In Minho, the eagles are aiming for their 6th consecutive away win in the Liga Betclic after beating FC Porto 1-4 on their last outing, a result that followed 4 other wins in a row as visitors: Gil Vicente (0-3), Rio Ave (2-3), Santa Clara (0-1) and Estrela da Amadora (2-3).

Benfica will face a Vimaranense side that is in 5th place in the table, with 48 points and unbeaten in the competition since January 26 (1-0 defeat at Estoril), following a run of 10 games without tasting defeat.

Vitória SC has only been beaten once at home and in domestic competitions, on September 21, 2024, winning the most recent 3 matches - Santa Clara (2-0), Estrela da Amadora (2-0) and Casa Pia (1-0) - and has not conceded a goal in the previous 5 matches in front of its home crowd.

History shows that Benfica usually wins when time they've visited Vitória SC, at a ground where they haven't lost in 25 consecutive league games: since 2012/13, the Eagles have won every time they've played at the D. Afonso Henriques, with 21 wins and 4 draws.

In the reverse fixture, Benfica beat their opponents 1-0 at the Estádio da Luz, with the goal that brought the fans to their feet being scored by Aktürkoğlu, assisted by Pavlidis.

Separated by 21 points in the Liga Betclic table, Benfica and Vitória SC are far apart, in favor of the eagles, in the main statistical records. Bruno Lage's team have scored 30 more goals than Luís Freire's (71 to 41), and clearly dominate in other offensive aspects such as shots per game (17.3 for the reds, 12.9 for the Minhotos), shots on target per match (7 against 4.4 for the hosts) or successful dribbles per match (9.2 compared to 5.9), according to data from the Sofascore platform.

Benfica outscore Vitória SC in possession (59.1%), although the Minhotos respond with a high figure (56.8%), as well as in passing efficiency (84.8% to 83.3%). In terms of accurate crosses, the Reds are the better team (average of 5.9 per game compared to 5.3 for their opponents). The sides also have a similar average number of corners (7.3 to 6.6).

In defensive terms, the Eagles total 18.4 tackles per match, leading the way compared to 15.9 for their rivals.

On an individual level, Benfica's top scorer is Pavlidis, with 15 goals in the league, followed by Aktürkoğlu, with 9, while Gustavo Silva is the top scorer for Vitorianos (6). The Turkish international leads the way in assists (9), more than twice as many as Tiago Silva and Nélson Oliveira (4) in their rivals' shirts.

In terms of shots per game, Di María is the player who most often targets the opponent's goal (2.7), an aspect in which Kaio César (1.8) stands out. He is the host who dribbles the most per match (0.9), a record far surpassed by Bruma (2.4), the best in this regard in the Reds' squad. Kökcü leads the way in key passes (2.4), beating Tiago Silva (1.6).

No In terms of duels won per match, Benfica have an average of 52.1% compared to 49.7% for Vitória SC.

On the defensive side, captain Otamendi is the champion in interceptions, averaging 1.8 per game; for Vitória SC, Borevkovic and Händel share the lead with 1.2. In terms of tackles, Florentino is the eagle with the best rate (3 per game) compared to 2.3 for João Mendes.