Juventus must defeat a hot Benfica team in order to maintain their chances of moving on in the Champions League.
To keep their Champions League ambitions alive, Juventus must beat a red-hot Benfica team.
Juve will play their hardest in Lisbon because a loss may mean elimination from the Champions League and the possibility of missing out on Europa League play. Since Benfica won the first meeting between the teams, 2-0, in Turin, they will be confident in their chances of pulling off another upset on their home stadium.
With only three points from their first four games, the Bianconeri find themselves in a difficult position in Group H. They’re tied for fourth on points with the lowly Maccabi Haifa and may have to fight for third place following today’s game.
A victory here would maintain Juventus in the running for second place, but they would still need to beat PSG in their last group stage game and hope that Benfica loses to Maccabi Haifa.
Benfica, meanwhile, will play Juventus in front of their rowdy home crowd hoping to secure a win that will send them through to the knockout stage.
The Eagles, coached by the German Roger Schmidt, have yet to suffer a defeat this year. They are currently tied for second place in Group H with Paris Saint-Germain and hoping to advance to the knockout stages of the Champions League for the second year in a row after the holiday break.
Matchup between Benfica and Juventus has been set. Here are the teams’ confirmed lineups: Benfica XI (4-2-3-1): The names Vlachodimos, Gilberto, Silva, Otamendi, Grimaldo, Fernandez, Luis, Aursnes, Rafa, Mario, and Ramos all come up.
Szczesny; Danilo; Bonucci; Gatti; Cuadrado; McKennie; Locatelli; Rabiot; Kostic; Kean; Vlahovic (3-5-2)
The latest developments from Benfica vs. Juventus as they happen
The upcoming UEFA Champions League matchups between Benfica and Juventus
Benfica will play Group H’s weakest team, Maccabi Haifa, on the road in Israel on November 3 after a critical matchup with Juventus.
On November 3rd, the Old Lady of Turin will face a red-hot PSG squad in a must-win UEFA Champions League match.