Aiming to extend their winning run to five matches across all competitions, Benfica will welcome Spanish giants Atletico Madrid to Estadio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica on Wednesday night in the Champions League.
The Eagles have hit a rich vein of form since a managerial switch last month, whilst Los Colchoneros are still fighting on with their long-serving head coach at the helm.
Match preview
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Following a sobering 1-1 draw at the home of Moreirense on August 30, Roger Schmidt was relieved of his duties at Benfica, who have enjoyed a four-game winning streak across the Primeira Liga and Champions League since the dismissal of a title-winning German last month.
The latest of those successes arrived domestically on Saturday evening, when goals from the likes of World Cup and Copa America winner Nicolas Otamendi fired the Eagles to a five-goal thrashing of Gil Vicente, who managed only two shots at Anatolii Trubin's net over the course of the match.
Collecting 12 points from an available 12 since the turn of the month, new head coach Bruno Lage is taking plenty of the credit for stabilising a talented squad into a winning machine following the ill-fated reign of Schmidt, with the former Wolverhampton Wanderers boss back in Europe after a spell coaching Botafogo in Brazil.
The Eagles survived a scare in Serbia on gameweek one of the Champions League a fortnight ago, when first-half strikes from Kerem Akturkoglou and Orkun Kokcu ultimately secured a 2-1 win over Red Star Belgrade, who threatened to stage a comeback when Milson netted in the 86th minute.
Providing four goal contributions in three Primeira Liga matches this season, summer arrival Akturkoglou enjoyed a sensational September for both Benfica and Turkey, with the 25-year-old bagging eight goal involvements across his last five competitive matches.
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Atletico Madrid extended their unbeaten run at the start of the 2024-25 campaign to nine games on Sunday night, when the hosts at Estadio Civitas Metropolitano staged a late comeback to force a share of the spoils against Spanish and European champions Real Madrid in a hotly-contested derby.
Following a goalless first half, the contest burst into life during the second 45 minutes as Los Blancos centre-back Eder Militao fired the visitors into the lead, but Los Colchoneros were unwilling to lie down and accept defeat, with a 95th-minute strike from substitute Angel Correa restoring parity in the battle.
Although an eight-game unbeaten streak in La Liga sounds terrific as the October international break approaches, Atletico Madrid have already lost quite a lot of ground in the race for the Spanish crown, with Wednesday's visitors winning only half of those eight matches, meaning that they sit five points behind Barcelona in first.
Conceding just three goals during their last eight matches in all competitions, Diego Simeone's troops possess one of the most resolute backlines in this season's Champions League, although it remains to be seen whether such stubbornness will be enough to earn a first-ever triumph in this competition.
Atletico Madrid are one of 15 teams who will be looking to make it back-to-back wins in the Champions League over the course of gameweek two, with the Spanish powerhouses beating Bundesliga contenders RB Leipzig 2-1 a fortnight ago courtesy of goals from Antoine Griezmann and Jose Gimenez.
Team News
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Benfica remain without the services of midfielder Renato Sanches, with the 27-year-old still recovering from a muscle injury sustained in late August.
The Eagles are also unable to call upon the talents of Tiago Gouveia, who has not featured for new head coach Lage yet due to a shoulder issue.
Atletico Madrid are without one of their Champions League veterans in the form of Cesar Azpilicueta, with the 35-year-old picking up a thigh strain over recent weeks.
Although back in first-team training, Pablo Barrios is a doubt for Wednesday night's trip to Portugal because of a muscle issue sustained in early September.
Scoring off the bench against Real Madrid, Correa will be knocking on Simeone's door for a starting spot this time around, meaning that Alexander Sorloth or Julian Alvarez could lose their place in the side.
Benfica possible starting lineup:
Trubin; Araujo, Silva, Otamendi, Fernandez; Aursnes, Luis, Kokcu; Di Maria, Akturkoglou, Pavlidis
Atletico Madrid possible starting lineup:
Oblak; Molina, Le Normand, Gimenez, Reinildo; De Paul, Llorente, Gallagher; Griezmann, Alvarez, Correa
We say: Benfica 1-1 Atletico Madrid
Unbeaten since the arrival of new head coach Lage, Benfica should be relatively confident of providing a serious test for Atletico Madrid on Wednesday night.
Los Colchoneros can extend their unbeaten run to 10 matches with a positive result in Lisbon, and we reckon that Simeone's troops will manage that particular feat with a share of the spoils.
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Carter White
