Benfica vs Real Madrid Prediction & Betting Tips (28 January)

Benfica took far too long to get into this Champions League, but one day before the end of the regular season, under the leadership of José Mourinho, the Portuguese club still has a slim chance of winning their case in the top 24. Indeed, 29th, the Lisbon Eagles are 2 points behind Olympiakos. But even in the event of victory, the planets would have to be perfectly aligned to get ahead of the direct competitors. In addition, the residents of Luz did not make their job easier by losing last week against Juventus in Turin 2-0. A defeat which deprived Benfica of recording a third successive victory in the Champions League after the exploits against Napoli 2-0 and Ajax in Amsterdam 0-2. Defeats to Leverkusen 0-1, Newcastle 3-0, Chelsea 1-0 and Qarabag 2-3 will probably weigh too heavily in the balance. Last weekend, as part of the championship, Benfica hosted Estrela, with the objective of achieving a third success in a row in the league, result to come.

Real Madrid won their first Champions League match under the Arbeloa era, and unfortunately, it was Monaco who paid the price for Madrid's demonstration at the Bernabéu last Tuesday, winning 6-1. A positive victory, full of lessons for the Merengue, who moved to 4th in the standings. Finally, and this is the hiccup to point out, in the first 7 matches played, Real Madrid lost twice, against teams in hat 1, in this case Liverpool 1-0 and Manchester City 0-2. That is to say that in the “big posters” of this C1, Real lost. On the other hand, against OM 2-1, Juventus 1-0, Olympiakos 3-4, Kairat Almaty 5-0 or even Monaco 6-1, Real Madrid shone. In La Liga, last weekend, Kylian Mbappé and his friends traveled to the Ceramica de Villarreal as part of a shock at the top of the table result follow. 

Within this Benfica formation, certain major elements will a priori be absent from this last meeting of the league phase, in this case the long-time absent full-back Bah, the striker who arrived from Sevilla FC last summer Dodi Lukébakio and the midfielder Rios without forgetting the rotation players like Félix, Soares and Veloso. Arriving this winter from Estrela, Cape Verdean international Lopes Cabral is not qualified in C1. At the heart of this European campaign, Luxembourg international Leandro Barreiro is Benfica's top scorer with only 2 goals. This implies that boys like Pavlidis (17 goals, 4 assists in the league) and Sudakov (4 goals in the league) are completely missing out on their competition.  On the Spanish side, defenders Ferland Mendy, Rüdiger, Militao and Trent Alexander-Arnold will remain with the medical staff in the capital while, conversely, it is important to notify the return from suspension of Alvaro Carreras, although Camavinga produced an excellent performance at left back against AS Monaco. Back from Morocco where he left his mark on the CAN by being the top scorer in the competition but also by missing the penalty to win against Senegal in the final, Brahim Diaz will be available to Alvaro Arbeloa.

Rodrygo (absent against Monaco) could stay in Madrid (glitch). Top scorer in the C1 with 11 goals in 6 matches, Kylian Mbappé scored a double against Monaco, a double against OM, a quadruple against Olympiakos and another hat-trick against Kairat Almaty. If Mbappé is the top scorer in the C1 this season, Vinicius Jr is the best passer in the edition currently with a total of 6 goals. Against Monaco, the Brazilian excelled by scoring 1 goal and 3 assists and at the origin of Kehrer's CSC. Jude Bellingham also participated in the celebration by scoring the 6th and final goal for Real Madrid.