Benfica will face Real Madrid at the Stadium of Light on Tuesday night in the first leg of their Champions League knockout play-off tie.
Benfica defeated Madrid 3-2 in their last game to seal a play-off spot, depriving Real Madrid of automatic qualification for the last 16.
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Game preview
Benfica have struggled in the league stage, picking up just nine points from eight games, but they will be encouraged by their recent performance against Madrid.
Although Real Madrid dominated possession, Benfica was the better attacking team, creating eight great chances for Real Madrid.
However, Mourinho’s side will need to defend better to have any chance of advancing to the last 16 before the second leg.
Madrid beat Real Sociedad 4-1 on Saturday to extend their winning streak to three games. However, the performance remains unconvincing.
Alvaro Arbeloa’s side continue to rely on the talents of Kylian Mbappe. The Frenchman scored twice in his last game against Benfica and became the tournament’s top scorer with 13 goals.
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Real Madrid defeated Manchester City 6-3 on aggregate last season and aim to advance to the play-offs for the second consecutive season.
In four games with Benfica, the Spanish giants achieved 1 win and 3 losses.
Team News
Richard Rios, Frederic Osness and Alexander Ba were left out of the hosts’ squad. Joao Veloso and Samuel Suarez are doubtful.
For the visiting team, Jude Bellingham, Edel Militao, Rodrigo and Raul Asensio are absent, and the latter two will be suspended.
Expected lineup
Benfica (4-2-3-1): Anatoly Trubin, Tomas Araujo, Antonio Silva, Nicolas Otamendi, Samuel Dahl, Leandro Barreiro, Enzo Barrenechea, Gianluca Prestiani, George Sudakov, Andreas Kjedrup, Vangelis Pavlidis.
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Real Madrid (4-3-1-2): Thibaut Courtois, Alvaro Carreras, Dean Huizen, Antonio Rudiger, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Eduardo Camavinga, Aurelian Chuameni, Federico Valverde, Alder Guler, Vinicius Junior, Kylian Mbappe.
prophecy
We predict Madrid to win 3-1.
Statistics from sofascore.com, whoscored.com and uefa.com
