Braga having won their first group match 2-0 against Partizan made sure it counted in the Liga Zon Sagres the following weekend, when they beat Olhanense 3-1 at home to go second in the league.
Benfica were not to be as lucky as Braga and went down early to Lyon and had a man sent off, it followed up by another Lyon goal to lose 2-0. The following weekend they managed to beat Portimonense 1-0 in a somewhat scrappy performance.
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This Tuesday will see a Benfica team take on Lyon for the return leg of the CL.
Jorge Jesus men had a fine win over Pacos Ferreira in week 9 of the Liga Zon Sagres. The return to fitness from Fabio Coentrao and the tactics of Jorge Jesus working in the 'Eagles' favour. Benfica seemed to dominate the game.
Pablo Aimar opened the scoring with a superb goal, followed by Alan in the second half for the 2-0. Benfica played well, with what it seemed a bit more maturity and confidence in their football.
This will be a big week for Benfica, with the encounter against Lyon; the team from Luz will make the trip to Porto for the 'Classico' against FC Porto with the hopes of closing the gap to just 4 points.
So what will the match offer?
Benfica will bring out a more or less full team; Nico Gaitan who got sent off in the game in Lyon will definitely miss out. Ruben Amorim and Oscar Cardozo are still a doubt as they recover from injury along with Javier Balboa who returns from surgery.
Lyon are without Lisandro Lopez who will be out for 3 weeks and Michel Bastos is a doubt following the 2-1 win over Sachaux when he was subbed at half time with a bruised knee.
The game will offer some good football, should Benfica play the sort of tactics and the style of attacking football, they played against Pacos Ferreira with a hint more strength, which is what missed from the game in Lyon, then I have no doubt that a victory will be possible, so long as Saviola if starting does not waste as many chances as he didn’t in that game.
One of the main problems in Lyon was the failure to close down the opposition with efficiency. Michel Bastos ran riot down the left with Benfica offering vast amounts of space and time for them to run into.
On Lyon it will be a game they will need to win again, and the faults above, if repeated by Benfica, they will know only too well, what to do.
1-0 victory for Benfica, in an encounter, that will bring out the best in some of the highest paid players in Portugal.
Partizan vs. Braga 3/11/10
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Braga having beaten Partizan, the team from the Minho region went on to beat Olhanense 3-1 in the domestic league. This week Braga managed to lose their game against Rio Ave after going down to ten men, after Moises was sent off in the 27th minute.
From then on Braga fell apart, despite the penalty being saved and being in control of the game prior, the 'Arsenalistas' could not over turn the 1 man deficit. Rio Ave went on to score 2 goals in the late stages of the match.
What ill the game offer?
Braga should count on a full squad but with the absence of Hugo Viana on Saturday is still a talking point; Viana is not injured and was left out at Domingos Paciencia's choice not to include him.
But it will be a different game in Belgrade as the atmosphere will be much different from the city of Braga.
Partizan has enjoyed a good game this Sunday, having won their 'Derby' match against Jagodina 3-0 with Portuguese, Moreira (aka Doctor Ma) on target.
I will predict a 1-1 draw with Braga just holding on.
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