The Champions League returns this Tuesday with high-flying Portuguese side Benfica hosting Club Brugge in the second leg of the knockout round.
The hosts have one foot in the next round after a 2-0 win over their visitors in the first leg of this tie. Since that win in Belgium, the Primeira Liga leaders have won three successive league games by a two-goal margin.
So confidence should be sky-high as they aim for a second straight UCL quarter-final appearance. The Eagles haven’t lost a UCL game since their quarter-final home leg loss against Liverpool last April (W9, D3).
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Only PSG held Benfica to a draw at home during that run (W4), and since May, they have not lost a competitive home fixture (W16, D2). So they will be confident of getting through here, with a draw enough to see them through.
Club Brugge are up against an uphill task here, as Benfica have never lost to a Belgium side (W8, D2). The visitors travel to Portugal in poor form, as a run of one win in their last six fixtures (D3, L2) leaves them fourth in Belgium’s First Division.
Even more worrying is a lack of goals, as they haven’t scored more than twice in one game – which they must do here to win without penalties – since October 29th.
So given that Benfica have won 20 out of 21 previous European ties in which they won the first leg away from home (L1), we can expect a direct win for the hosts here.
Click here to get the best direct win predictions.
