Benfica vs Atletico Madrid Match Preview: Team news, possible lineups, predictions & h2h
Benfica vs Atletico Madrid Match Preview: Team news, possible lineups, predictions & h2h. The matchday 2 of the Champions League league phase continues as Benfica take on Atletico Madrid in Lisbon.
Benfica are now led by former Wolves manager Bruno Lage following the dismissal of Roger Schmidt at the end of August. The Portuguese side have won four on the bounce in all competitions since the manager’s exit, with Lage now tasked with reclaiming Benfica’s Primeira Liga crown from city rivals Sporting CP.
Their Champions League campaign started with a hard-fought 2-1 win in Serbia against Red Star Belgrade two weeks ago. Orkun Kokcu‘s divine free-kick doubled Benfica’s lead after Kerem Akturkoglou‘s early opener.
They have an even sterner test on Wednesday as they face an Atletico Madrid side with plenty of pedigree in this competition. Diego Simeone has guided Los Rojiblancos to two Champions League finals, and the draw fell kindly for Atleti last season, but they instead succumbed to Borussia Dortmund in the quarter-finals.
Jose Maria Gimenez secured a dramatic 2-1 victory for the La Liga side against RB Leipzig on Matchday 1 after Benjamin Sesko handed the visitors a fourth-minute lead. Simeone’s side most recently played out a gruelling Madrid derby in which they earned a point thanks to Angel Correa‘s stoppage-time equaliser.
Here is how we preview the Wednesday’s Champions League clash in Lisbon.
What time does Benfica vs Atletico Madrid kick-off?
Location: Lisbon, Portugal
Stadium: Estadio do SL Benfica
Date: Wednesday 2 October
Kick-off Time: 20:00 BST / 15:00 ET / 12:00 PT
Referee: Serdar Gozubuyuk (NED)
VAR: Pol van Boekel (NED)
Benfica vs Atletico Madrid H2H Record (All Games)
Benfica: 1 win
Atletico Madrid: 1 win
Draws: 0
Last meeting: Benfica 1-2 Atletico Madrid (8 December 2015) – Champions League
Benfica team news;
Renato Sanches is set to miss out on Wednesday with a muscle injury sustained in August, while Tiago Gouveia is yet to feature under Lage due to a shoulder injury. He’ll likely return after the international break.
The manager is unlikely to make too many changes from the side that battered Gil Vicente at the weekend, with Angel Di Maria and summer arrival Kerem Akturkoglou continuing in the frontline alongside Vangelis Pavidis.
Benfica predicted lineup vs Atletico Madrid
Benfica predicted lineup vs Atletico Madrid (4-3-3): Trubin; Araujo, Silva, Otamendi, Fernandez; Aursnes, Luis, Kokcu; Di Maria, Pavlidis, Akturkoglou.
Atletico Madrid team news;
Pablo Barrios remains a doubt for the away side with a muscle injury, veteran defender Cesar Azpilicueta is also unlikely to feature due to a thigh strain.
Marcos Llorente was sent off late on in Sunday’s Madrid derby, but he won’t be suspended for Wednesday’s game and Simeone may retain him in his starting XI. However, the versatile Spaniard could perform a wing-back role with Atleti potentially switching to a back three for this Champions League duel on foreign soil.
Centre-back Robin Le Normand is sidelined after suffering a head injury.
Koke and Samuel Lino are also contenders to return to the XI.
Atletico Madrid predicted lineup vs Benfica
Atletico Madrid predicted lineup vs Benfica (3-5-2): Oblak; Witsel, Gimenez, Reinildo; Llorente, De Paul, Koke, Gallagher, Lino; Griezmann, Sorloth.
Benfica vs Atletico Madrid score prediction;
Atletico remained unbeaten at the start of the new season thanks to Correa’s late equaliser on Sunday, while Benfica are on a four-game winning run since the departure of Schmidt.
The new manager bounce they’ve enjoyed under Lage has manifested with great distinction in recent outings, but this duel will be a big test of their credentials. Everytime you think Atleti are evolving under Simeone, they produce performances such as last Thursday’s 1-0 win at Celta Vigo in which they revert to type.
The visitors are such tough opponents in this competition, and they’ll likely turn Wednesday’s bout into a slugfest in which the spoils are shared.
Prediction: Benfica 1-1 Atletico Madrid
