Benfica vs Atl. Madrid prediction: EUROPE: Champions League – League phase betting tips on match 2024-10-01 19:00.
[p]New Benfica boss Bruno Lage has made the perfect start to his second spell in charge of the club, overseeing a four-match winning streak. That includes a 2-1 win over Red Star Belgrade in their UEFA Champions League (UCL) opener, giving the Eagles the chance to win their first two games of a UCL campaign for just the third time.[/p]
[p]To achieve that, the Portuguese giants will have to overcome a dreadful recent record against Spanish opposition. Benfica have won just two of the last 21 such matches (D8, L11), though one of those did come against upcoming opponents Atlético Madrid in 2015/16. Both H2Hs that season were won 2-1 by the away side on the day, while Benfica’s return of no win from their last four UCL home matches suggests their path to victory is laced with danger here (D1, L3).[/p]
[p]Atlético arrive in the Portuguese capital buoyant after they scored deep into stoppage time to rescue a point from a typically chaotic Madrid derby that saw play suspended for several minutes due to fan misbehaviour. That continued an unbeaten competitive start to the season for Diego Simeone’s side (W5, D4) in which late goals have become a theme, as they netted a 90th minute winner to beat Leipzig on matchday one in the UCL (2-1).[/p]
[p]Maintaining such a positive start to the campaign looks difficult for Atleti, considering they’ve only managed to win one of their last nine UCL away matches (D2, L6). A continuation of those struggles could seriously hamper their progress in this competition’s new league phase, but they do seem more comfortable in Portugal where they’ve won three of their last four trips (L1), though that loss did come on their most recent visit against Porto.[/p]
[p]Players to watch: New Benfica winger Kerem AktĂĽrkoÄźlu has been in red-hot form since making the switch from Galatasaray, directly contributing to goals in all four of his appearances for the Eagles (G3, A2) – all three goals came inside 30 minutes, including a strike on matchday one of the UCL. AtlĂ©tico will hope that the UCL helps Alexander Sørloth rediscover his scoring touch, as he’s gone ten games without a goal for club and country since netting on his debut for Atleti.[/p]
[p]Hot stat: Atletico have scored before half-time in just two of their last seven matches.[/p]
[p][i]Written by Ryan Fisher[/i][/p]