Benfica have a 100% record through two Champions League league phase games, and they next take on Feyenoord in the competition on Wednesday night.
After grinding out a victory in Belgrade on Matchday 1, Benfica turned on the style at home as they breezed past Atletico Madrid 4-0 before the October break. Bruno Lage’s side dazzled in that triumph, completely stifling their seasoned visitors before running up the score in the second half.
They’ve been faultless under Lage thus far having parted ways with Roger Schmidt at the start of the season, but they’ve got plenty of work to do if they’re to deny Lisbon rivals Sporting CP back-to-back Primeira Liga titles.
Feyenoord were 4-0 behind to Bayer Leverkusen at half-time of their league phase opener in what was a chastening defeat for the Dutch side, but they responded with a chaotic 3-2 victory at Girona on Matchday 2.
Wednesday’s visitors are still unbeaten in the Eredivisie through eight games, but Brian Friske’s side are already 11 points adrift of league leaders PSV Eindhoven having drawn half of their encounters. Feyenoord head into this one five games unbeaten.
Here’s 90min’s guide to Wednesday’s Champions League clash in Lisbon.
What time does Benfica vs Feyenoord kick-off?
Benfica vs Feyenoord H2H Record (All Games)
Current form (all competitions)
How to watch Benfica vs Feyenoord on TV and live stream
Benfica team news
Lage made wholesale changes to his starting XI for Saturday’s cup victory at Pevidem, and we should see a return of the manager’s strongest lineup for Feyenoord’s visit.
The hosts are likely to be without Renato Sanches due to a muscle injury and Tiago Gouveia because of a shoulder issue.
Angel Di Maria is a shoo-in to start down the right flank and the veteran will join Vangelis Pavlidis, who scored twice against England to inspire a historic victory for Greece at Wembley, and the red-hot Kerem Akturkoglu in the frontline.
Benfica predicted lineup vs Feyenoord (4-3-3): Trubin; Bah, Antonio Silva, Otamendi, Carreras; Aursnes, Luis, Kokcu; Di Maria, Pavlidis, Akturkoglu.
Feyenoord team news
There was no room for rest at the weekend as Feyenoord dispatched Go Ahead Eagles 5-1 in the Eredivisie.
The visitors’ injury list is considerable, with Quilindschy Hartman and Calvin Stengs among their significant absences for Wednesday’s game. Feyenoord were also dealt a big blow last month when leading scorer from last season Santiago Gimenez succumbed to a hip injury.
Bart Nieuwkoop has a chance of returning in midweek, but he’s unlikely to start.
Feyenoord predicted lineup vs Benfica (4-3-3): Wellenreuther; Lotomba, Beelen, Hancko, Bueno; Milambo, Hwang, Timber; Osman, Ueda, Igor Paixao.
Benfica vs Feyenoord score prediction
Feyenoord have so far mitigated the absences of key players pretty well, but this is their biggest test since they were put to the sword by Bayer Leverkusen on Matchday 1.
It hasn’t taken Lage long to imprint his principles onto this Benfica team, and their 4-0 rout of Atletico Madrid last time out showed they’re a side to be reckoned with in this competition.
This is a Benfica outfit with tidy balance and a confident frontline. You’ve got to expect them to secure all three points with their core largely fresh having had the weekend off.
