Juventus will travel to Lisbon this Tuesday to face Benfica in the fifth group stage game of the 2022/23 UEFA Champions League season.
Venue: Estádio da Luz (Lisbon)
Key Statistics
Benfica are unbeaten in their last 25 games in all competitions (W22, D3).
The hosts have scored 2+ goals in eight of the nine games they have played at home this season.
They have one clean sheet in their last six games.
Juventus have won just one of their last nine away games in all competitions (D2, L5).
They have kept two clean sheets in their last two games.
The visitors have conceded 2+ goals in each of their UCL games this season.
Head to head
Benfica have won three of the last five meetings between both sides in European competition (D1, L1).
Latest performances in all competitions
Benfica: W-W-D-W-D
Juventus: W-W-L-L-W
Benfica
Benfica will play host to Juventus at the Estádio da Luz as they look to continue their impressive run in the Champions League.
As Águias come into this game off the back of a hard-fought 0-1 win over FC Porto in the Portuguese Classico at the weekend.
Benfica struggled to break down the stubborn Porto defence but got their lucky break when Stephen Estaquio received his second booking of the day in the 27th minute. Roger Schmidt’s side started finding much space to attack due to their numerical advantage, and finally cut through the Porto defence when David Neres played Rafa Silva, who made no mistake to put Benfica in front in the 72nd minute.
The win over Porto opened up a six-point gap at the top of the table for Schmidt’s side after ten rounds of football as they extended their unbeaten run this season.
Benfica are yet to taste defeat in any competition this season. The hosts sit second in Group H, level on points with PSG. And so Schmidt will be keen to see his side take advantage of the opportunity to go top of the Group with another win over Massimiliano Allegri’s side, having secured a 1-2 victory in the first leg in Italy.
Possible Benfica starting line-up
Odisseas Vlachodimos; Gilberto, Antonio Silva, Nicolas Otamendi, Alejandro Grimaldo; Enzo Fernandez, Florentino Luis; David Neres, Rafa Silva, Julian Draxler; Petar Musa.
Injured: Felipe Morata
Doubtful: Lucas Verissimo
Suspended: None
Juventus
Juventus, on the other hand, will look to build on their 4-0 win over Empoli last weekend.
Moise Kean opened the scoring for the home side in the eight-minute after some fine work from Filip Kostic to send the Old Lady into the break with a one-goal advantage. USA international Weston McKennie doubled the lead ten minutes after the restart, and Adrien Rabiot added gloss to a perfect team performance with a brace.
Juventus have endured a rollercoaster ride this season in all competitions, with inconsistent performances leaving the Old Lady outside the top four in the Italian Serie A, and at the brink of an early Champions League group stage exit.
Massimiliano Allegri will therefore be keen to see his side pick up their third win on a bounce for the first time this season to keep their Champions League hopes alive, albeit pending the results of Benfica’s remaining fixture.
The Italian coach knows that his a loss ends his sides’ chances of making it to the next round of the European Competition. His side come into this game in third place in Group H with just three points, and are level on points with Maccabi Haifa, having picked up just one win after four rounds of Champions League football. So they will come into this game desperate to pick up maximum points, to avoid getting thrown out of this competition in the group stage.
Possible Juventus starting line-up
Mattia Perin; Juan Cuadrado, Leonardo Bonucci, Bremer, Danilo; Weston McKennie, Fabio Miretti, Adrien Rabiot; Dusan Vlahovic, Filip Kostic, Arkadiusz Milik.
Injured: Leandro Paredes, Bremer, Angel Di Maria, Mattia De Sciglio, Paul Pogba
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Prediction
Benfica 2-1 Juventus
