Overview
Benfica started the Champions League group stage in a terrible way when they lost all 4 of the first matches, although two consecutive victories against Ajax and Napoli once ignited hopes of winning a play-off ticket.
However, that revival quickly stalled last week with a 0-2 defeat at Juventus's stadium, a result that questioned Benfica's ambition to enter the top 24.
Although the right to self-determination is no longer in hand, the Portuguese representative still has a theoretical chance to squeeze into the play-off group. The condition is that they must win big and wait for more favorable results in other matches.
Benfica has a basis for confidence thanks to their long history in the Champions League, having twice lifted the cup, including the championship in the 1961-1962 season after a victory over Real Madrid in the final. Besides, a 5-1 victory in the only time the two teams met in Da Luz helped the "Eagles" win two of their three encounters.
The home team Da Luz also entered this match with impressive home form. The 4-0 victory over Estrela Amadora last weekend was Benfica's fourth consecutive triumphal victory against home fans, thereby ranking third in the Primeira Liga and 10 points behind the top spot.
This boost came at the right time for Mourinho's team, after a period of decline when losing 3 out of 4 previous matches. Therefore, going deep in the European arena can become an important source of motivation.
In the opposite direction, Real Madrid has also experienced many upheavals recently. Starting with a defeat to Barcelona in the Super Cup final, leading to the sacking of Xabi Alonso. After that, Alvaro Arbeloa received a bitter fruit at the Copa del Rey against second division team Albacete right in his debut match.
However, Real Madrid quickly stabilized with 3 consecutive victories in all competitions, including a 2-0 victory at Villarreal last weekend. Kylian Mbappe scored a double, helping the Royal team narrow the gap with the top of La Liga to one point.
4 days earlier, Mbappe also scored 2 goals in the 6-1 victory over Monaco in the Champions League, bringing the total number of goals scored in this season's tournament to 11 goals. The French striker equaled Cristiano Ronaldo's record in the 2015-2016 season for the most goals in a group stage campaign.
Real Madrid has even more reason to be confident when they have won 8/10 of their last matches against Portuguese representatives in European cups, including a 4-game winning streak away from home.
Personnel situation
Benfica still cannot have the services of Alexander Bah (knee injury), Samuel Soares (muscle injury), Dodi Lukebakio (ankle injury) and Henrique Araujo (muscle injury). In addition, Richard Rios will also be absent for the fourth consecutive match due to fitness issues.
Sidny Lopes Cabral, a January rookie, scored in the victory over Estrela Amadora in the domestic league but did not qualify. Similarly, Rafa Silva, who could not participate for this reason, despite making his debut from the bench in the match mentioned above.
On Real Madrid's side, Mbappe is in very high form when scoring in all 3 recent matches, with a total of 5 goals in that period.
The away team still lacks Trent Alexander-Arnold (ankle injury), Eder Militao (strap tendon injury), Ferland Mendy (strap tendon injury) and Antonio Rudiger (knee injury).
Expected lineup:
Trubin, Dedic, Araujo, Otamendi, Dahl, Aursnes, Barrenechea, Prestianni, Barreiro, Sudakov, Pavlidis.
Real Madrid: Courtois, Valverde, Asencio, Huijsen, Carreras, Tchouameni, Bellingham, Guler, Mastantuono, Mbappe, Vinicius.
The match between Benfica and Real Madrid takes place at 3:00 AM on January 29 (Vietnam time).
