Should Schmidt lose his Benfica job in the event of elimination?

Until now, Roger Schmidt’s tenure at Benfica Lisbon has been marked by a number of successes. In his very first season as head coach in Portugal, the German coach won the championship and led the team to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League. The mechanical engineering graduate was rewarded with an early contract extension until 2026, but Roger Schmidt is now facing headwinds in his second season due to a lack of results. An early departure in the summer currently does not seem out of the question

Of course, the second leg of the Europa League last 16 tie on Thursday evening is particularly important in this context, as the Benfica squad will travel to Scotland to try and book their place in the quarter-finals at Ibrox. After the 2:2 draw in the first leg, everything is still wide open ahead of the second leg, although the bookmakers even see the southern Europeans as the favorites to progress despite the traditional home strength of the “Gers”. On the “to qualify” market, the top odds offered for the Schmidt team between Glasgow Rangers and Benfica Lisbon are 1.80.

In the following paragraphs, we look at the question of whether the favorites role in favor of the guests is one hundred percent comprehensible or which aspects speak for a success of the British? We are also looking for alternative Glasgow Rangers vs Benfica Lisbon tips that do not necessarily relate to the outcome of the game

Glasgow Rangers – Statistics & current form

Philippe Clement has been at the helm of Glasgow Rangers since mid-October. The Belgian coach succeeded Michael Beale, who had to resign after a poor start to the season. So far, this decision has definitely proved to be the right one, as things are going exceptionally well under Clement, who was previously under contract at Monaco. In 31 competitive matches under the management of the 49-year-old, there have been 25 wins, four draws and only two defeats with 71:19 goals. The points average is currently 2.55 and impressively underlines the fact that the “Teddy Bears” have been in impressive form for several months now.

This impression was also confirmed in the Europa League group stage, in which the Scots finished top of the table with eleven points out of a possible 18, thus sparing themselves two additional matches in the intermediate round. Their only loss came in a surprising 2-1 defeat at Aris Limassol, but they were subsequently able to make amends with eight points from four matches

Rangers are and will remain a force at Ibrox

In general, international competition shows that the 2022 Europa League finalists are very difficult to beat at home. Including Champions League qualification, the “Gers” have already played five European home games in 2023/24 and remained unbeaten (3-2-0). The British side did not lose out even against highly rated opponents such as Betis Sevilla (1-0) or PSV Eindhoven (2-2). Since home strength was also the main reason for the run to the final of this competition in 2021/22, we are deliberately refraining from making a prediction against the home side in Glasgow Rangers’ clash against Benfica Lisbon on Thursday evening.

This is not least due to their form at national level, where Rangers have put themselves in pole position in the race for the championship with nine wins in the last ten matchdays. The dress rehearsal at the weekend also went according to plan. Glasgow won 2-0 in Edinburgh in the cup.

With their own supporters behind them, we are confident that the Clement team will progress on Thursday evening, but we could also imagine – in order to minimize the risk – taking a closer look at the 1X & Under 3.5. Only one of the five international home games mentioned above has seen more than three goals scored. Beyond that, there is a lot at stake, which is why we do not expect a goal festival and a relatively uneventful first half

Predicted Glasgow Rangers line-up:

Benfica Lisbon – Statistics & current form

In the introduction, we have already touched on the tense situation surrounding Roger Schmidt at Benfica Lisbon. The dissatisfaction on many levels even led to the German coach being publicly asked about his future for the first time at the weekend. Although the topic has certainly not left the former Leverkusen head coach unscathed, he is focusing on the next few games, pointing out that three titles are still possible in the current season.

Schmidt is actually right with this statement, although Sporting are already four points behind their rivals in the Portuguese league, should they win the catch-up game, and the “Àguias” also have their backs to the wall in the cup semi-final after a 2-1 defeat in the first leg against their arch-enemy from the same city. The importance of the Europa League round of 16 is therefore undisputed. A premature exit on the European stage – also in view of the sobering performances in the CL group stage – would increase the likelihood of Schmidt’s dismissal.

Benfica have big problems away from home

Considering the last results of the “Os Encarnados” away from home, doubts about a good result in Scotland are well-founded. Around ten days ago, Benfica were thrashed 5-0 at FC Porto. Before that, there was a weak 2-2 draw at Vitoria Guimaraes, a 0-0 draw in Toulouse in the second round of the UEFA Europa League and finally the aforementioned 2-1 away defeat in the cup at Sporting Lisbon, which could have been even worse. The last away win therefore dates back to January 2024.

This is one of the reasons why we find it somewhat surprising that lower odds are being offered on the Portuguese team reaching the quarter-finals ahead of Glasgow Rangers’ second leg against Benfica Lisbon. Given the aforementioned facts and the fact that the Eagles have only reached the next round in one of five cases in which the first leg of a European knockout round was not won at home. At least in terms of personnel, the reigning champions can draw virtually from the full. Coach Schmidt rested a number of key players such as Rafa and Di Maria in the 3-1 win at the weekend, which once again underlines the enormous importance of the Europa League in the red part of Lisbon!

Predicted Benfica Lisbon line-up:

Glasgow Rangers – Benfica Lisbon head-to-head comparison / H2H result

The head-to-head record between Rangers and Benfica is completely even. There have been three encounters so far and all three have ended in a draw. The teams drew in both the 2020/21 EL group stage and the first leg of the round of 16 a week ago. Interestingly, both teams managed to score two or more goals each time. It is likely that this streak will be broken on Thursday and that the second leg will instead take a rather tough course.

Glasgow Rangers – Benfica Lisbon betting tip

While a certain tendency can be seen in some Europa League round of 16 duels even before the second legs, the starting position between Rangers and Benfica is full of suspense. The 2-2 draw in the first leg showed that the teams are definitely on an equal footing. The Portuguese may have a little more individual quality, but the in-form Scots, who have lost just two of 31 competitive games under coach Clement, clearly work better as a team.

As a result, we do not necessarily agree with the bookmakers’ assessment, who, according to the betting odds, see the Scottish team as the favorites ahead of Glasgow Rangers’ second leg against Benfica Lisbon. With their own fans behind them, we definitely see the “Gers” in a position to punch their quarter-final ticket. Rangers have yet to lose an international home game in 2023/24, while Benfica have been waiting for an away win since January 2024. Especially against good opponents, there has not been much to gain away from home recently

We therefore recommend betting on the Scots to progress between Glasgow Rangers and Benfica Lisbon. Oddset even offers this with extra-high odds of 2.05 at the top. Our bet is five out of a possible ten fictitious units