Benfica v Barcelona Match Result
Barcelona’s Champions League betting odds to win this clash away to Benfica implies that the Catalan side have a 50% chance of securing a victory. They have been fairly strong in this competition and the most recent encounter saw Barca leave Dortmund with a 3-2 victory, with Ferran Torres scoring a double as part of this success.
They also flexed their attacking muscle when winning 5-2 away to Red Star Belgrade, although there were some worrying moments for Barcelona before Christmas. Consecutive home defeats against Leganes and Atletico Madrid were suffered and Flick will hope that the team steady the ship in January.
While Barca are going to be a popular bet to win this clash, the bookies are prepared to offer an attractive price for a reason. Part of this is down to the visitors not necessarily needing a victory in order to continue sitting pretty in the standings. We have also seen the Catalan side fail to win four of their eleven away matches.
Benfica are not easily beaten at the Stadium of Light, with Bruno Lage’s side, with the team having won eight and lose one of their nine games played thus far. However, there are worrying signs for the home side considering that a 1-0 defeat was suffered away to Sporting before a 2-1 reverse at home to Braga.
The last Champions League encounter for Benfica saw them held to a goalless draw by Bologna where the Portuguese side had five shots on target compared to their opponents’ one. Previously to this, we saw an excellent 3-2 victory away to Monaco and they kept the scoreline down when losing 1-0 to Bayern Munich.
Goals Under/Over
Goals could certainly be on the cards at the Stadium of Light on 21 January. The Over 2.5 odds is trading at a short price which implies that it’s highly likely that three or more goals will be scored. It’s clear that some bettors will be in search of bigger prices and there’s even money with some Champions League betting sites that there are Over 3.5 Goals.
Benfica do average three goals per home game in the Portuguese Superliga, although they are much more goal-shy when it comes to their away clashes considering that eleven goals have been scored on the road. They might struggle to create many meaningful chances against a Barcelona side who will head to Portugal to attack their opponents.
Barca have scored thirty-one goals in eleven away clashes, with Hansi Flick’s side actually able to score at a better rate than they do at the Nou Camp. They have also conceded fourteen times away from home, although we wouldn’t be too confident backing Over 2.5 at such a short price.
BTTS
The BTTS Yes odds is trading at pretty much the same price as Over 2.5 Goals. It’s hard to see Barcelona failing to score a goal at the Stadium of Light, although they have only conceded seven goals in their six games played in the competition thus far.
On the flip side, five of the previous six Barcelona games have ended with a BTTS Yes outcome at the time of writing. It was something of a freak to see the Catalan side fail to find the net against Leganes when losing 1-0, with Hansi Flick’s side having 80% possession, four shots on target and eleven shots off target.
The previous two away games for Barcelona in the Champions League have been wins by a 5-2 and 3-2 scoreline. It therefore sets a big suggestion that both sides can find the net, especially as Benfica can play their part in a high-scoring clash. However, it’s noticeable that not too many of their recent games have ended in BTTS Yes.
Indeed, six of the previous eight Benfica clashes have seen BTTS No happen as an outcome and there might be better value going for this option.
First Goalscorer
Robert Lewandowski has scored an incredible twenty-five goals this season in all competitions and he is definitely worth considering when it comes to anytime scorer for your Champions League Bet Builders. The 36-year-old has been prolific in the Champions League and the Pole will be on spot kicks for a team who are even money favourites.
While Lewandowski is top scorer in the charts, Raphinha is second and the Brazilian is also having an excellent time in front of goal. There have been a sum total of seventeen goals pilfered altogether and he was able to register away to Borussia Dortmund as part of a 3-2 victory, with Ferran Torres also able to bag a brace in that encounter.
Torres has scored four goals in the past five encounters, while Benfica have a number of sharp shooters of their own. The Portuguese side will be in search of goals and it’s Angel Di Maria who has been rolling back the years with some vintage performances including a brace away to CD Nacional.
Kerem Akturkoglu has scored eleven goals in total this term, with the Turk having scored plenty of goals during the early part of the season although he has hit something of a barren patch over the past few months.