Nolito started the season brilliantly, but he has been seeing less playing time with the emergence of Bruno Cesar. I know that Cesar is slightly better at defending, but Nolito adds so much more to the attack than Cesar. Bruno Cesar is by no means a winger, but he is consistently played on the wings. Cesar is more of an attacking midfielder or even a deep-lying play maker. When he is on the right, he always cuts in on his left foot which makes the middle of the field congested.

Gaitan also frequently cuts in from the right wing, but he is faster and more skillful than Cesar. When on the left wing, Cesar lacks the speed and sharpness to beat the right back and provide quality crosses. Cesar is best suited as a central or attacking midfielder where he can best utilize his passing range and thunderous shot.

If I were Jorge Jesus, I would use Nolito on the left wing, Gaitan on the right, and either Aimar or Cesar as the #10.

I reiterate again, that I have had enough of 4-4-2...period!! It didn't work last season and should have been left behind....it worked well the season before last, when Cardozo and Saviola were a lethal strike partnership, and we had Ramires covering loads of ground in the middle and helping out the defence. Our defence has improved from last season, but I still don't think it is good enough for us to play 4-4-2, because we get very vulnerable to quick counter-attacks with that formation and only Artur's great form has prevented us dropping more points this season to be honest!!

I think our best formation with the players in this squad, for any match at all, home or away, is a 4-2-3-1...which is flexible enough to shift to 4-5-1 (for a more defensive approach) or 4-3-3 (for a more attacking approach). For me what has to remain constant in every match is Garcia (or Matic) and Witsel protecting the back four, because counter-attacks are our biggest enemy, and even Maritimo were able to exploit that!!!

I agree with you too about Rodrigo...as great an impact as he's had this season, I don't believe he should be our first-choice centre forward. Firstly i don't think that's his best position anyway...secondly Cardozo is perfectly suited to our best formation, as a no-nonsense lone forward, just there to put the ball in the back of the net!!! Ideally i would like to see them both start a match together some time, with Rodrigo playing as a wide attacker...but tonight is probably not the time to try that out for the first time! Perhaps against Rio Ave in the Liga in a couple weeks time. Anyway we should comfortably get the 3 points tonight, but I also want to see a good attacking performance to go with the 3 points....FORCA!!!!

Let me start off by saying starting Amorim, Jardel, & Emerson all in defence is pretty scary, no matter the formation.

Andre the only reason you like the 4-2-3-1 is because the players JJ plays are more effective that way.

Two Midfield Defenders behind Gaitan and Aimar is always a good thing.. but the fact is a 4-4-2 still works... even without Aimar who is a great playmaker.

If you played Nolito, Cesar, Witsel, with Javi behind them and Cardozo or Rodrigo with Nelson a natural play-making Striker.. we would score a ton of goals and still be defensively solid.

Many announcers give Nolito a hard time about defending but he is better than Aimar & Gaitan put together defending.. they also talk about his poor form which so conveniently coincides with the time he was benched.

Cardozo too isn't getting his usual amount of goals.. which also happens to coagulate with not starting.

In this home game with Galati it should be a 4-4-2.. but with the right players..

Now you can substitute Cesar for Aimar in the middle and you could push Witsel to DM and play Gaitan with decent results.

What you can't do is replace Cardozo with Rodrigo.. Rod is an add-on not the main man yet, and you can't play JJ's usual 4-4-2 which would be:

Cesar, Aimar, Gaitan, with Javi defending.. and Rodrigo & Saviola at the front. Even Cardozo & Saviola would not work.. in both cases because Saviola is useless.. can't make a pass and can't score. Although Cardozo is guaranteed of scoring.

So I can appreciate why you would rather see the 4-2- 3-1 with JJ's player selections that is always the best option.

But that defence is scary.. even with Maxi on the field Maritimo scored two goals that were so poorly defended.

First was Witsel with a lazy challenge that turned into a wonder goal.. one of the best strikes I have seen this season btw.. and the other was the break down of Javi & Jardel for the chip..

With Amorim a lousy RB in there.. it is truly scary. add to that JJ's Spanish speaking mid-defensive Turds.. and we have a recipe for disaster.

The win should be easy.. but

"Making Everything Look Difficult" TM might have a few surprises for us.

Maybe Aimar will be the lone striker and Gaitan will be the RB.

Forca Benfica.

"A Team With a Squad That Can Make Any Stooge Look Good" TM

Not only are the 3 points imperative tonight to make sure we finish first in the group...but I also feel that we are due a really big and dominant performance. The last month or so has seen us continue to get positive results, but I really feel the team performances have dropped quite a bit during this same period, and the team has been doing just enough to get the required results. Tonight could be just the match to put on a huge performance and really entertain the fans again. Since Porto went out last night, we gotta represent Portuguese football as well!

Otelul will just be playing for pride, and while we shouldn't underestimate them, I would still like to see us "go for it" a little bit more tonight than we have been doing lately. I would play 4-2-3-1 even though we are at home, because that will enable us dominate the midfield, control the match and prevent counter-attacks. I really have had enough of 4-4-2...with that system we fail to dominate in the centre and are vulnerable to counter-attacks (deja vu of last season).

Even though Aimar is facing suspension should he get another yellow card tonight, I would still definitely take the risk and start him as he is fundamental to the 4-2-3-1. I would also play Cardozo up front, who is due a few goals. In my opinion he should still be our first choice striker in the 4-2-3-1 system, as he is much more of a natural centre-forward than Rodrigo. I think Rodrigo would be best suited with a strike partner or as a wide attacker (in other words not as a lone striker!)

Of course the 3 points is most important, but i would really love to see a great performance too. Lastly, while theoretically it would be best to win the group as the opposition in the round of 16 would likely be easier...this is not a guarantee neccesarily....by topping the group, we could end up having to play AC Milan or Manchester City (i'd be a little worried about either of these)...while finishing second, we could play Apoel or Inter or Arsenal (i'd be quite confident against either of these)....so yeah important to win the group tonight, but still nothing is certain from now on in the Champions League.....Vamos!!!

I hope that Porto's lost will makes realize how important a win this is.
It will be imperative to finish 1st in teh group, in order to avoid Barca, Real, Arsenal, Chelsea and Bayern.