Bayern win in historic anniversary?
On Tuesday, Bayern will reach another milestone in the club’s magnificent history in their Champions League clash against Benfica Lisbon. The Munich side will be on the pitch for the 500th time in the European Cup. This makes the German record champions only the third club, after Barcelona and Real Madrid, to reach this mark on the international stage.
Naturally, Bayern want to celebrate this anniversary with a victory. Basically, nothing speaks against it, because the FCB is the crystal-clear favourite in this duel at the betting providers. With a win, the German champions can book their place in the last 16 of the top flight for the ninth time after just four group matches.
Bayern are top of the table in this group with nine points from three games. Benfica follow with four points, Barcelona are on three points and Dynamo Kiev are at the bottom of the standings with one point. This is just another reason why the forecast between Bayern and Benfica Lisbon clearly goes to a home win.
In addition, the Munich team won the first leg in the Portuguese capital clearly with 4-0 and are one of the contenders for the Champions League title. We should not make the mistake of assuming such a clear victory again, but in any case, in the match between Bayern and Benfica Lisbon, the tip should have something to do with a home win.
Bayern – Statistics & current form
It is indeed still not clear whether Julian Nagelsmann will return to the FC Bayern bench on Tuesday. Although the 14-day quarantine ended, the FCB coach still did not manage to test himself free. It could therefore well be that Dino Toppmöller will have to stand in for his boss on the sidelines for the fifth game in a row.
Home strong Bayern
In the first leg, however, Toppmöller was already the man on the sidelines and there was a 4-0 victory in Lisbon. Bayern are even stronger at home in the top flight and have won 21 of their last 22 home games in the group stage and drawn once. We can probably save checking the odds on a visitors’ win between Bayern and Benfica Lisbon.
Last weekend, Union Berlin had to make amends for the 0:5 in the cup against Gladbach. The Munich team showed signs of uncertainty at times, but in the end they won 5:2. Robert Lewandowski, Kingsley Coman, Thomas Müller and Leroy Sane were the scorers
Leon Goretzka will return to the team on Tuesday. The injury from the Gladbach game has subsided. There was a question mark behind Lucas Hernandez, but the French World Cup winner should also be able to come into play. So only Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting is likely to miss out.
Predicted Bayern line-up:
Neuer – Davies, Hernandez, Süle, Pavard – Kimmich, Goretzka – Sane, Müller, Gnabry – Lewandowski – Coach: Nagelsmann
Last matches played by Bayern:
1st Bundesliga
10/30 2021 – Union Berlin 2 – 5 Bayern Munich
DFB Cup
10/27 2021 – Borussia Mönchengladbach 5 – 0 Bayern Munich
1st Bundesliga
10/23 2021 – Bayern Munich 4 – 0 Hoffenheim
Champions League Grp. E
10/20 2021 – Benfica 0 – 4 Bayern Munich
1st Bundesliga
10/17 2021 – Bayer Leverkusen 1 – 5 Bayern Munich
Benfica Lisbon – Statistics & current form
Benfica are certainly not the heavyweight in the Champions League that they once were. Especially away from home, the Eagles don’t cause much trepidation. There hasn’t been a win in an away game in the top flight since October 2018.
Scared record against German teams
Scary record against German teams in recent years. In the last 13 duels against Bundesliga sides, Benfica have only picked up one win. On top of that, they relinquished the top spot in the Portuguese league at the weekend. All of this does not sound like a prediction of a point win for the visitors in the duel between Bayern and Benfica Lisbon.
That it would not be an easy walk in Estoril on Saturday was perhaps foreseeable, because after all Estoril Praia are in fourth place in the Portuguese league. Nevertheless, after Lucas Verissimo’s early goal, everything looked like an away win for Benfica. However, Odysseas Vlachodimos scored in the 90th minute to equalise 1-1, a bitter loss of points.
In terms of personnel, things are not looking good for the Eagles. Several important players will be absent from the game in Munich due to injury. Gil Dias, the former Hertha player Valentino Lazaro, Haris Seferovic and Rodrigo Pinho should certainly be out. There is still a question mark over Gedson Fernandes’ fitness.
Predicted line-up of Benfica Lisbon:
Vlachodimos – Otamendi, Vertonghen, Verissimo – Weigl, Joao Mario – Grimaldo, Radonjic, Rafa Silva, Nunez – Yaremchuk – Coach: Jesus
Last matches played by Benfica Lisbon:
Liga Portugal
10/30 2021 – Estoril 1 – 1 Benfica
Liga Cup Group A
10/27 2021 – Vitoria de Guimaraes 3 – 3 Benfica
Liga Portugal
10/24 2021 – Vizela 0 – 1 Benfica
Champions League Grp. E
10/20 2021 – Benfica 0 – 4 Bayern Munich
Cup
10/16 2021 – Trofense 1 – 2 Benfica
Bayern – Benfica Lisbon Direct Comparison / H2H Balance
Eleven times the teams of Bayern Munich and Benfica Lisbon have faced each other so far. The direct comparison is a clear affair for the German record champions, who have won eight of these eleven matches. Three times it came to a draw. This means that Benfica are still waiting for their first win against FC Bayern.
Usually it was a good omen for the Germans when they met Benfica, because afterwards they usually went very far in the European Cup. The last encounter was a fortnight ago at the Estadio da Luz. After a goalless first half, Bayern still won 4-0 after two goals from Leroy Sane, one from Robert Lewandowski and an own goal.
Bayern – Benfica Lisbon Tip
The 0:5 in the DFB Cup against Gladbach was possibly just a one-off slip-up by FC Bayern. With or without Julian Nagelsmann, there is every reason to believe that the Munich side will advance to the last 16 with a win on Tuesday. After all, they have never lost to Benfica in eleven direct duels.
FCB’s 4-0 win in Portugal a fortnight ago was also a demonstration of power. Furthermore, the Eagles have not won an away match in the top flight since 2018 and have only won one of their last 13 encounters with Bundesliga teams. Between Bayern and Benfica Lisbon, we can therefore probably save a tip on a guest victory.
We think Bayern will not want to miss the chance to close the bag in this group, especially as they have won 21 of their last 22 home games in the group stage of the top division. We have therefore decided to play the betting odds on a handicap win (-1.5) for the Munich side between Bayern and Benfica Lisbon.
