Bayern Munich vs Benfica 28/11/18

28 November 2018

Bayern Munich and Benfica will face-off at the Allianz Stadium in a match the visitors have to win if looking to keep their chances of advancing to the knockout stage alive.

The first meeting between these two took place at Estadio da Luz on the opening matchday with Bayern clinching a routine 2-0 victory.

The Bavarians currently top the Champions League Group E with a record of three wins and one draw. The reigning Bundesliga champions have defeated AEK Athens in both legs with an identical 2-0 scoreline after being held to a 1-1 draw to Ajax Amsterdam at home. Niko Kovac’s players will be going in search of a much-needed triumph following back-to-back Bundesliga failures that saw them losing 3-2 to Borussia Dortmund before failing to beat Fortuna Dusseldorf at home although they’ve had a 2-goal lead 15 minutes before the final whistle. Their defensive frailties have seen them concede at least one goal five times in the last six outings across all competitions. But, Robert Lewandowski and his fellow teammates have bagged a minimum of one goal eight times in a row, as they’ve last struggled to score against Borussia Monchengladbach back in October.

Meanwhile, it will be a daunting prospect for the visitors to pick up a win against Bayern, as they have failed to beat the Red Devils in the past three H2H meetings in the Champions League. Having lost two out of the opening four European clashes, the Eagles have to secure all three points at the Allianz Arena if looking to keep up the pace with Ajax. Still, the only win the Reds clinched so far came on the road, as they’ve outplayed AEK Athens in Greece before missing out on a victory in both encounters with Ajax. Rui Vitoria’s men have endured a difficult period during which they’ve suffered three straight losses, as they come into this encounter with two victories in the previous three clashes across all competitions.

Provisional line-up – Bayern Munich:

Gk: Neuer Defense: Hummels – Jerome Boateng – Sule – Alaba – Kimmich Midfield: Javi Martinez – Renato Sanchez Attack: Ribery – Muller – Lewandowski

Provisional line-up – Benfica:

Gk: Vlachodimos Defense: Dias – Jardel – Grimaldo – Almeida Midfield: Fejsa – Pizzi – Gabriel Attack: Cervi – Salvio – Jonas