In the end, finishing second in the group, Chelsea did quite well. Otherwise, Maresca’s team would have faced Bayern Munich in the round of 16. Better this way, in short, because Benfica is objectively much less scary.
And there are precedents between these two teams that indicate that the Blues are a real curse for the Portuguese side. There have been three previous encounters, and on all three occasions, Chelsea came out on top by a single goal. The last time was in the 2013 Europa League final, when a goal from Ivanovic in stoppage time gave the cup to the team then coached by Rafa Benitez.
Many years have passed, twelve to be precise, and these two teams have never faced each other again. And right now, Chelsea seems to be clearly superior. Not only because they play in the Premier League, which we all know is the best league in the world and one that pushes players to give their all, but also because the Italian-coached team won the Conference, which, like it or not, is still a trophy. Furthermore, in the third game of this competition, realizing that first place was now out of reach, Maresca changed eight players from the lineup that should be on the field on Saturday night. So he will have a much fresher team. And in June, that makes all the difference.
Odds comparison
Chelsea’s victory is priced at 2.10 on Goldbet and Lottomatica and at 2.10 on Snai. A goal is worth 1.72 on GoldBet and Lottomatica.
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The prediction
Chelsea through. Chelsea will reach the quarter-finals in a match that will see at least one goal scored by each side and should end with a minimum margin of one goal. The Blues have the advantage, of course, as they are fresher and will field all the players who rested during the third and final match of the group stage. This is something Benfica did not do, beating Bayern Munich with a lot of hard work and perhaps a little extra given the temperatures in the United States at the moment.
Probable line-ups for Benfica-Chelsea
BENFICA (4-2-3-1): Trubin; Aursnes, Silva, Otamendi, Carreras; Florentino, Barreiro; Di Maria, Kocku, Akturkoglou; Pavlidis.
CHELSEA (4-2-3-1): Sanchez; James, Adarabioyo, Colwill, Cucurella; Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez; Neto, Palmer, Madueke; Delap.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 1-2