Someone must be planning it if Benfica are over evens to beat Spurs tomorrow.So far they are the team that have impressed me most in pre season.Spurs haven't exactly hit the ground running and I think they will suffer the sme fate as Aston Villa and Sunderland.
With the start of the season just around the corner, tomorrow night`s game against the Portuguese Champions in the Eusebio Cup at the magnificent Estadio da Luz. could well be seen as a 'must impress` by some of the fringe players if they are looking to get into Harry`s squad plans.
It`s highly likely that we`ll see most of our first team start the game or at least play a full half as we look to bring them up to full match fitness ahead of our first game of the season.
Benfica will be going straight into the Champions league, whereas we have yet to steer our way past what might yet prove to be a tough couple of ties. Our opponents are also only a couple of weeks away from the start of their season, so this is likely be a stern test and looks to be a real competitive match with little of the training game 'feel` of our earlier pre-season games.
The Eusebio Cup is an annual Tournament and is highly regarded by the Portuguese even though it only commenced in 2008. It`s named after perhaps Portugal`s greatest ever player and he`ll be on hand to present a magnificent crystal glass trophy to the winning team. It would be a fantastic achievement if that were us.
Let`s hope that this time we really turn up and give the hosts a tough game, it`ll go a long way to then helping repair a slightly dented pride after our drubbing against Villareal and perhaps even set us up nicely for what looks to be a very tough opening game to the season.
Last week Benfica took Aston Villa apart in a 4-1 win and pretty much did what Villareal did to us at White Hart lane, giving them a lesson in fast mobile passing football with an end product.
Harry has already bemoaned our pre-season schedule, but surely Benfica offer him a real opportunity to assess both the lads` fitness and form?
Benfica v SpursBenfica V SpursMatch Preview With the start of the season just around the corner, tomorrow night`s game against the Portuguese Champions in the Eusebio Cup at the magnificent Estadio da Luz. could well be seen as a 'must impress`