Fenerbahce Istanbul vs Benfica Lisbon Prediction & Betting Tips - Champions League

Prediction published on 11/08/2018, 14:01  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 11/08/2018 at 15:02 in Champions League Prediction

The winners of this Champions League third qualifying round tie take on either PAOK or Spartak Moscow in the play-off round. That tie is nicely poised with PAOK winning the home leg 3-2 and the same can be said of this tie with Benfica winning their home leg 1-0. A 69th minute goal by Cervi gave the Portuguese side their narrow lead but Fenerbahce will be upset they didn't come back from Portugal without an away goal. If Benfica can get on the scoresheet in 90 minutes in this second leg, then the Turkish team will need to score three times to have any hope of reaching the play-off round.

Fenerbahce have only won one of their last seven games in the Champions League and their last three at home have only produced a win over Monaco. However, they have only suffered one defeat in their last 23 home matches so Benfica won't find this easy. The Portuguese side followed up their first leg win with a victory over Vitoria Guimaraes in their opening domestic league game. That win in the first leg ended a run of seven straight defeats in the Champions League and in their group last season scored once and conceded 14 failing to score in their final five matches. Only one of their last eight away games in the Champions League has been won and the tip here is to go for a home win.