On Friday evening, Benfica suffered a defeat against Porto (1:2), which was a missed opportunity for the Eagles to create an insurmountable lead in the Portuguese championship. Currently, the team has 23 victories and two draws, which correspond to 71 points and the first position. Now they must forget about their internal blunder and quickly refocus on the UEFA Champions League, where they will aim to extend their impressive home record against Italian clubs when Inter comes – the Portuguese have eight wins and four draws in 14 matches against representatives of Serie A. The claims for victory in the first game will be the key to overall success, while the team has lost only three of the last 25 matches on their home ground. Unfortunately, one of these unsuccessful matches occurred precisely at this stage of the last season, and Benfica lost all five quarterfinal confrontations in the Champions League era. In this match, Draxler, Otamendi, Ristovski, and Bach, who has a knee injury, will not be able to take the field.
The winner of the 2010 Champions League also has unimpressive results at this stage, as the team failed to pass this stage in four of their last six attempts. Their internal football also does not promise much consolation: a draw with Salernitana (1-1) on Friday guarantees that the team will remain outside the top 4 in Serie A against the background of a four-match winless streak in the main league in Italy. In 29 rounds, the Milan club has 16 wins and three draws, which corresponds to 51 points and fifth position in the standings. Nevertheless, Inter did what Benfica failed to do on Friday, namely, beat Porto, and Italian giants have knocked out their Portuguese colleagues in the last 16 matches. Another successful match is needed next week in Milan if they want to move forward because “Nerazzurri” has some problems in Portugal. Today, Skriniar, D’Ambrosio, and Calhanoglu, who has a thigh injury, will not be able to play. More direct win prediction can be obtained from the link provided.
