Another repeat of a league phase tie is on the horizon, as Monaco will again take on Benfica in the knockout playoff phase, but this time the stakes will be much higher. Because one of these teams will be eliminated from the competition after this round, the expectation is that their clash will be even more intense than the last time out.
Monaco Team News
Monaco’s recent weeks haven’t been the best of times for the team with their preparation for the game for Benfica also taking a hit. During the weekend, the team was dismantled 4-1 by PSG. Additionally, the last UCL game in which Monaco took place was also a loss – a decisive 3-0 loss to Inter in Italy. But a broader look at The Monégasques will reveal that their recent performances have dropped as the loss to PSG was their 5th from their last 9 games across all competitions. What could serve as a source of hope for Monaco is that they have won their last 3 competitive games as host, with one of those wins being against Aston Villa in the UCL. However, 1 of their 2 losses across their last 6 home fixtures came against none other, than Benfica.
Benfica Team News
The Eagles booked their ticket for the knockout playoff stage with an impressive away win against Juventus during the last league phase matchday. Since then Benfica has continued to showcase good form by picking up back-to-back wins in the Portuguese league, although they did concede 2 goals in both of those games. Within the UCL Benfica is one of the best-performing teams on the road. During their league phase travels the team managed to pick up 3 wins and lost just once to Bayern Munich. It might be surprising, but The Eagles managed to accumulate just 4 points across their home matches from the league phase as opposed to 9 on the road, pointing towards a style of play that seems better suited for such matches.
Head-to-Head-Games
The most recent game between Monaco and Benfica ended 2-3 for The Eagles and was played during the league phase of this year’s UCL. Before that, the two teams last met in 2014.
Monaco – Benfica Betting Prediction
My pick here is for both teams to score over 2.5 goals. Judging by the recent result of both sides, their habit of conceding quite often all while managing to consistently find the net and their most recent H2H played, the decision to look for goals here seems like a sound one. While there might be the issue of this being the first leg of a knockout tie which could push sides to adopt a more careful approach, I do not expect this to happen, especially since they already know one another and because neither side has been involved in any low-scoring affairs recently.
Betting Tip: Both Teams To Score: Yes & Over 2.5 Goals
Bookmaker: Sportsbet.io
Odds: 1.83
Sportsbet.io
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