Under Champions League E on Wednesday, December 12, Benfica Lisbon – AEK Athens – will be played. The match will take place on “Estadio da Luz”, starting at 20:00. The host team has not achieved any points so far, with a 2-12 goal margin.
“Eagles” will go in the spring of the Europa League regardless of the outcome of this game. At their last participation in the Europa League, in the 2013-014 season, they reached the last act of the competition. Benfica missed the chance to pass the third continental trophy, slipping the final in front of Sevilla after the penalty shootout. As the stake of the game is totally lacking, Rui Vitoria could focus more on the Maritimo weekend, especially since the band only occupies the fourth position in the championship. In addition, Tyronne Ebuehi and Eduardo Salvio are injured and will not evolve.
On the other side, the Greeks only made an act of presence in the group stage. Although defeated in the preliminary rounds of Celtic and MOL Vidi, they have defeated Ajax, Bayern and Benfica. Moreover, four out of five defeats suffered in the handicap and without any scored goal. In a final attempt to accumulate a point, Marinos Ouzounidis will not be able to count Helder Lopes (injured), but neither striker Marko Livaja, suspended after the elimination suffered in the previous round. AEK has only qualified in the European Spring in the last seven European Cups.
Probable teams:
Benfica (4-3-3): Vlachodimos – Almeida, Conti, Dias, Grimaldo – Fernandes, Fejsa, Gabriel Piresn – Rafa Silva, Cervi, Jonas
AEK (3-5-2): Barkas – Oikonomou, Chygryynskiy, Bakakis – Brito, Mandalos, Alef, Galanopoulos, Hult – Ponce, Giakoumakis
In the tournament, Benfica scored 3-2. The Portuguese group won the victory despite having evolved with a minus man in the 45 + 4 minute. It was the 2nd success achieved in the 3 direct matches recorded so far.
PREDICTION: Benfica to win @ 1.40
