Match Preview

Benfica host the opening fixture of UEFA Champions League, Group A against Russian outfit CSKA Moscow on Tuesday evening. Today’s free S.L. Benfica vs CSKA Moscow preview analyses a close game between two clubs who will most likely be battling it out for second place in the group. Looking at the bookmaker’s football odds, it’s apparent that they believe the clash in Lisbon could really go either way. Read our free expert betting tips and picks below.

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Coming into our free S.L. Benfica vs CSKA Moscow betting tips, the home team have only won one of their last four Champions League fixtures. The Portuguese side reached the first round of the knock out stages of the UCL last year before they were beaten 4-1 over two legs by Borussia Dortmund. So far this season, Rui Vitória’s men have won five of their six domestic matches.

The away side had to come through two UCL Qualification rounds to get to this year’s group stages. They won those four fixtures over two rounds without conceding a single goal, a set of results that plays a part in our S.L. Benfica vs CSKA Moscow predictions further down. The Russian Premier League is already nine games in and CSKA have already been beaten three times. Our featured clubs have only met twice previously – those contests were played out over a two legged tie in the 2005 UEFA Cup. The Russians won 3-1 over that double header.

S.L. Benfica vs CSKA Moscow Prediction and Betting Advice

The first selection for our S.L. Benfica vs CSKA Moscow picks is both teams to score on Tuesday. Despite SLB’s impressive start to the campaign they have kept just two clean sheets in six, even though they have faced relatively weak opposition. Both Rio Ave and Portimonense were able to breach the Benfica rear-guard in their last two outings. The Portuguese have only managed to keep the opposition out four times in seventeen Champions League matches. Conversely, they have scored in all but two of their last eighteen on the European stage. CSKA have only failed to score twice in eleven themselves in European competition, so we shouldn’t be surprised if both teams register at least a goal each on Tuesday.

The home team have only lost twice in ten at the Estádio da Luz in the Champions League, driving us towards making a home win the second of our Champions League football tips today. Overall, Rui Vitória’s squad are unbeaten on their own patch in twenty-two competitive fixtures – they are simply outstanding at their own stadium. For their part, the Russians are generally very bad travellers in continental competition. They have won just five from twenty-one away trips and before their two qualifying round away victories, they had lost six from seven outside Russia. Viktor Goncharenko would happily take a point if you offered it to him now, but it will be tough to keep out a team who have averaged over three goals a game in their last four home fixtures.