Benfica vs Lyon
The competition in the Champions League tightens as we reach the midway point of the group stage. On Wednesday, it will be Benfica hosting Lyon in their Group G matchup at the Estadio Sport Lisboa.
The home team will hope to turn things around after a miserable start with two losses against Zenit and RB Leipzig, while Lyon have gone 1-1 including a big win against RB Leipzig and a draw against Zenit.
Zenit and Lyon are at the top of the table with four points each. RB Leipzig’s form has been terrible lately after a fiery start and they’re currently third with three points. Benfica, meanwhile, have zero points and are in danger to be eliminated if they’ll continue to slide.
It’s hard to predict on which team will take home the victory on this one since neither club were really favoured in our Champions League 2019 odds, so we’ll see come Wednesday on how things will turn out.
Talking Points
Benfica under Bruno Lage
Even with their fair share of struggles as of late, Benfica look to be in decent shape at the hands of Bruno Lage, who was appointed as the permanent boss for the team after serving on an interim basis last term.
Under Lage, the Eagles came out strong this term at home when they annihilated most of their challengers in the Primeira Liga. Save for their tough loss against Porto, Benfica netted 14 goals while conceding only three in their first six matches.
Star midfielder Pizzi has been their most dangerous attacking threat this season. The 30-year-old skipper leads the league in scoring as he’s compiled six goals and two assists. All in all, he now has 10 goals in 11 appearances for the club this campaign.
It also helps that Lage has the likes of Rafa, Carlos Vinicius, Haris Seferovic, and Raul de Thomas at the front. Their chemistry isn’t there yet, however, but I’m expecting for them to gel more as they go along.
While they’ve been dominant in the Primeira Liga, the same story cannot be said in the Champions League.
They lost against RB Leipzig and Zenit in their first two group matches and looking at those games, their defence looked shaky at best.
Injuries to their key defenders in Andre Almeida, German Conti, and Chiquinho put a gaping hole to their backline, leaving inexperienced youngsters like Alex Grimaldo, Tomas Tavares, and Ruben Dias facing against opponents who have a lot of firepower.
Perhaps this is an early, crucial test for Bruno Lage, and these next few games can give SBOBET fans an idea on whether he’ll crack or rise above the pressure.
Benfica have effectively been left requiring at least eight points from their last four games to put themselves in contention for a spot in the succeeding knockouts.
Lyon looking for a turnaround in Champions League
Olympique Lyonnais have been looking for a good story to tell, especially since they’ve had a rough start in their Ligue 1 season. They are currently 17th on the table with 10 points and are in danger for relegation if this keeps up.
Many have thought that Les Gones would be one of the league’s top contenders this season after their back-to-back statement wins against Monaco and Angers where they’ve netted 10 goals. But since then, things took a turn for the worse for Lyon.
They lost against Montpellier, Nantes, and defending champions PSG as they failed to score a single goal, while they drew level against Bordeaux. Amiens SC, and Brest.
It’s a good thing, however, that it’s not the same case in the Champions League.
They’re currently tied for the top spot at four points in Group G with a victory against RB Leipzig and a draw against Zenit. Memphis Depay has been superb for Les Gones by scoring two of their three goals in the tournament.
He and Moussa Dembele are expected to lead Lyon’s attack while producing some of the best Champions League 2019 highlights and their lineup will be beefed up by the return of Bertrand Traore and Jeff Reine-Adelaide.
They also have a newly-minted boss in Rudi Garcia, who was welcomed after the sacking of Sylvinho last week. While he is not yet welcomed by the Lyon faithful, he should fit in seamlessly given his coaching pedigree.
History
Olympique Lyonnais have dominated their head-to-head matchup against Benfica as they’ve won three out of their four total matches.
The home team’s last win against Les Gones was a high-scoring 4-3 victory back in 2010.
Betting Tip
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Benfica vs Lyon | Lyon Asian Handicap +0.50 @1.77 |
| October 24, 03:00 (GMT+8) |
Our SBOBET website has Benfica at 2.19 odds and Lyon at 3.15 odds in the 1×2 market. A draw seems to be less likely at 3.40.
With Benfica playing under pressure and Lyon looking to impress their new manager, this is expected to be a testy affair. But I see the road team coming away with a win on this one via a late goal from either Moussa Dembele or Memphis Depay.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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|---|---|---|---|
| = €20 (Highly confident) |
 = €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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