Benfica vs Chelsea: Swapped Stars Compete in Key Battle

When Chelsea and Benfica exited from the Champions League back in December the two were immediately installed at the upper end of the odds market to become Europa League champions. It should be no surprise then that arguably the two strongest teams to drop down from Europe's elite club competition will compete in the final, in what is likely to be a tight affair in Amsterdam.

The fact that neither of the teams would likely have taken the bait if offered a place in the final of what is deemed Europe's second tier competition at the start of the season shouldn't detract from what looks set to be highly competitive encounter.

The sides, however, come into the game in contrasting spirits. Chelsea secured a Champions League qualification spot at the very least with a win at Villa, scoring in the dying minutes to secure a 2-1 victory, while it was the exact opposite for the Portuguese outfit. Benfica went ahead in their crucial table topping battle with Porto, just as Villa had at the weekend, only to lose the game 2-1 courtesy of an injury time winner from youngster Kelvin.

Jorge Jesus will be desperate for his side to end the season with silverware, with the Liga Sagres title race now out of their hands. Although they have a Taça de Portugal final to look forward to, picking up their first European honours in over 50 years since winning back-to-back European Cups between 1960 and 1962 would certainly cap a successful season.

In contrast, Chelsea are looking to pick up a European double of their own having unexpectedly won the Champions League last year. The Blues could become the first team to win the Champions League and Europa League back to back in that order (in the UEFA Champions League era), and only the fourth team to win all three of the European Champion Clubs' Cup, UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League and UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, with Juventus, Ajax and Bayern Munich the three to have done so to date.

While the English club will be favourites, the likelihood of there being much between the two sides on Wednesday is low, and WhoScored.com looks closely at what may be a key battle ahead of the showcase tie in midweek.

Chelsea came out on top when the teams went head-to-head last season, winning their Champions League quarter-final over two legs with a 3-1 aggregate victory. Nevertheless, the Portuguese outfit had 47 shots over the two games compared to Chelsea’s 29, as well as holding more possession in each game, with Di Matteo’s men scoring three of their seven shots on target while Benfica netted just one from 17 in comparison.

The tables have turned in this season’s Europa League, it seems, as Chelsea have averaged the sixth most shots per game (16.9) of all teams to play in the competition, while Benfica are way down in 43rd of the 56 competing teams, with 11.3 per game. Despite joining the competition after the group stages, however, both rank highly for goals from open play, with Chelsea’s 12 only bettered by Inter (15), and Benfica aren’t far behind in equal seventh on 9.

Both Chelsea (39%) and Benfica (40%) have looked to attack down their right side most often in the tournament, with Salvio and Oscar the players likely to occupy attacking positions on that side of the pitch for their respective sides. However, two of the games key players could be in the centre of the midfield, and both will be playing against their former employers on Wednesday night having been involved in the same swap deal between the sides.

Nemanja Matic vs David Luiz

Although he never started a league match for Chelsea, Benfica saw enough of Serbian Nemanja Matic during a loan spell at Vitesse to ensure that they recruited the midfielder along with a handsome fee in the region of €25m in exchange for Luiz. Matic has since become a key player for the Eagles, earning a contract renewal until 2018 at the start of the year, with his importance to the side highlighted by a huge buyout clause of around €45m.

The lanky 24 year-old is Benfica’s ball winner, as well as the hub of activity in central areas. In seven appearances in the Europa League he has averaged more tackles (2.4), interceptions (3.1) and passes per game (47.3) than any teammate, and those figures eclipse Luiz in the same competition. The Brazilian has made 6 appearances in the Europa League, and though only two of those have come in midfield, his comparative averages are 1.7 for both tackles and interceptions per game and 43.8 for passes.

Though four of his performances up until the final have come in defence, the Chelsea man is likely to move forward, and he’s offered more of an attacking threat than Matic. Luiz has scored 2 goals in the competition to the Serb’s 1, averaging more shots (1.3 to 0.6) and key passes (0.5 to 0.4) per game. However, it is the Benfica man that has shown ability in possession to complete a higher percentage of passes (80.4% to 74.5%) and more dribbles per game (1.4 to 1) than his opponent.

When looking at the attacking exploits on show for either side, particularly in support of their respective lone strikers, it’s clear that the duo will have a busy night ahead of them. The better of the two performers in Amsterdam may well be crucial in breaking down their opponent’s play and springing attacks from deep, and if Matic continues with his superior statistics, the swap deal between them would certainly come under scrutiny.