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08.12.21 - 21:00 CET
Champions League
The way Group E develops promises drama until the very end. If Barcelona wants to advance to the 1/8-finals, they have two options. Either kick themselves and win at Bayern, or rely on Benfica not beating the Ukrainians at home. And I'm convinced that Barca will have to kick themselves in Germany. Because Benfica will beat their Ukrainian rival.
I can't imagine Benfica would turn down such an exclusive chance to qualify for the Champions League in the spring. Yes, it's not in their hands and even a win doesn't guarantee them promotion, but there's still a huge chance Barcelona won't win in Germany. Even though Bayern have long been assured of the 1st place, they will surely approach this match responsibly and with a strong lineup to knock out their big rival in the group stage.
So Benfica will play to win and I think that shouldn't be a problem. They certainly have a much better squad than the Ukrainians, they score a lot of goals and generally play very attacking football. I've seen Dynamo Kiev in action twice this year, both times against Barca, and they showed virtually nothing in those 180 minutes.
The first match ended 0:0 despite Benfica's superiority. It is always difficult to play in Ukraine, at home it should be a different story.
The main difference should be in motivation. I have described the motivation of the home team above, the visitors, since they are not playing for anything anymore and anyway they stay last in the group, are going to Portugal practically on a trip.
Moreover, the home team will be driven by a stormy atmosphere and when I remember how they swept Barcelona in the 2nd round, I can't imagine a scenario in which they couldn't beat Dynamo Kiev.
Here I see it clearly for a win for Benfica, who will then wait impatiently for the result of the game in Munich.
Prediction:
Asian Handicap: Benfica -1.5 @ 1.90 (bet365)
Champions League
The way Group E develops promises drama until the very end. If Barcelona wants to advance to the 1/8-finals, they have two options. Either kick themselves and win at Bayern, or rely on Benfica not beating the Ukrainians at home. And I'm convinced that Barca will have to kick themselves in Germany. Because Benfica will beat their Ukrainian rival.
I can't imagine Benfica would turn down such an exclusive chance to qualify for the Champions League in the spring. Yes, it's not in their hands and even a win doesn't guarantee them promotion, but there's still a huge chance Barcelona won't win in Germany. Even though Bayern have long been assured of the 1st place, they will surely approach this match responsibly and with a strong lineup to knock out their big rival in the group stage.
So Benfica will play to win and I think that shouldn't be a problem. They certainly have a much better squad than the Ukrainians, they score a lot of goals and generally play very attacking football. I've seen Dynamo Kiev in action twice this year, both times against Barca, and they showed virtually nothing in those 180 minutes.
The first match ended 0:0 despite Benfica's superiority. It is always difficult to play in Ukraine, at home it should be a different story.
The main difference should be in motivation. I have described the motivation of the home team above, the visitors, since they are not playing for anything anymore and anyway they stay last in the group, are going to Portugal practically on a trip.
Moreover, the home team will be driven by a stormy atmosphere and when I remember how they swept Barcelona in the 2nd round, I can't imagine a scenario in which they couldn't beat Dynamo Kiev.
Here I see it clearly for a win for Benfica, who will then wait impatiently for the result of the game in Munich.
Prediction:
Asian Handicap: Benfica -1.5 @ 1.90 (bet365)
