SL Benfica and Atletico Madrid will be looking for their second win of the new Champions League campaign when they face off at the Estadio Universitario de Lisboa.
SL Benfica are all set to host Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid on Matchday 2 of the UEFA Champions League. Both sides won their first outing and will be aiming to make it two in a row on Wednesday.
The Portuguese club squared up against Serbian outfit FK Crvena Zvezda in the first UEFA Champions League game of the season. While they were expected to dominate the proceedings, things did not really go according to plan for them, and they had to dig deep to win 2-1 on the night.
Benfica are heading into this one on the back of a 5-1 win over Gil Vincente in the league, and they will be confident of giving Atletico a run for their money. The visitors started their Champions League campaign at home against RB Leipzig. They conceded an early goal but managed to bounce back. A 90th-minute winner from Jose Maria Gimenez secured all three points on the night.
Atletico Madrid are heading into this one on the back of a hard-fought draw against rivals Real Madrid. It was another late goal that saved the day for them. While Los Rojiblancos have not been at their best, they are still expected to have the upper hand here. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at both teams and tries to predict the tactics they could put to use.
Team News & Tactics
SL Benfica
The home team will be without the services of Renato Sanches, who picked up a muscle injury back in August. Meanwhile, Tiago Gouveia is also out with a shoulder issue.
Benfica will line up in a 4-3-3 formation, where Anatoliy Trubin will be in goal. The back four will be Tomas Araujo, Antonio Silva, Nicolas Otamendi and Alvaro Fernandez Carreras. Silva and Otamendi will take charge in the heart of the defence, while the other two will take care of the flanks.
In the centre of the park, Fredrik Aursnes will pair up with Florentino Luis and Orkun Kokcu. They will look to ensure they have a decent share of the ball while not letting the Atletico Madrid midfielders dictating the pace.
World Cup winner Angel Di Maria and Muhammed Kerem Akturkoglu will feature on the flanks. The duo will provide width as well as look to create goal-scoring chances for Vangelis Pavlidis, who will lead the line for Benfica against Atletico Madrid.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Trubin; Araujo, Silva, Otamendi, Fernandez; Aursnes, Luis, Kokcu; Di Maria, Pavlidis, Akturkoglou
Atletico Madrid
The visitors will be without veteran defender Cesar Azpilicueta and Robin Le Normand. The 27-year-old Spanish centre-back suffered a traumatic head injury with subdural hematoma (when blood collects between the skull and the surface of the brain) late on in the Madrid derby. Atletico have confirmed they will follow the guidelines related to such an injury and hopefully, he is back on the pitch soon.
Meanwhile, Pablo Barrios is back in training, he is still a doubt for this fixture.
Atletico Madrid will go ahead with the 4-3-3 formation for this fixture, where Jan Oblak will be in goal. The back four will consist of Nahuel Molina, Axel Witsel, Jose Maria Gimenez, and Reinildo Mandava. Molina and Reinildo are on the flanks, with Le Normand out injured Witsel with pair up with Gimenez in the heart of the defence.
Rodrigo De Paul will start alongside Marcos Llorente and Conor Gallagher in the centre of the park. De Paul and Llorente will give them a strong base, while Gallagher will have the license to go further up the pitch. Antoine Griezmann and Angel Correa should feature on the flanks, while summer signing Julian Alvarez should spearhead the attack.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Oblak; Molina, Witsel, Gimenez, Reinildo; De Paul, Llorente, Gallagher; Griezmann, Alvarez, Correa
Key Stats
- Benfica have won each of their last four outings in all competitions.
- Atletico Madrid have failed to win two out of their last three outings.
- Diego Simeone’s team have only conceded three goals in their last eight outings.
- The Madrid-based club are on a nine-match unbeaten run in the 2024/25 season.
- Bruno Lage has helped Benfica secure 12 out of the possible 12 points in the league since taking charge.
Player to Watch
Julian Alvarez
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Alvarez has made a slow start at his new club Atletico Madrid since joining them from Manchester City. The 24-year-old Argentine striker has finally got going with a couple of goals in recent outings, and he will look to add to it in this Champions League fixture.
Prediction
SL Benfica 1-3 Atletico Madrid
Benfica do have a strong squad, but they lack the much-needed depth to get better of a team like Atletico Madrid. While the visitors have not been at their best, they still have enough in their tanks to take down the Portuguese giants. The Hard Tackle predicts a 3-1 win for the team from Madrid.