Champions League Preview and Odds - Benfica vs Borussia Dortmund

Published on: 13/02/2017

Champions League Preview and Odds - Benfica vs Borussia Dortmund

February 14, 2017 19:45pm - Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica

Referee: Nicola Rizzoli (ITA)

Champions League - Knockout Stage

On Tuesday night, Benfica and Borussia Dortmund will meet for the first time since they went head-to-head in the first round of the 1963/64 European Cup. On that occasion, it was the Germans who prevailed 7-1 over two legs.

Benfica out to break German hoodoo

Benfica will feature in the knockout stages of the Champions League for the second season in a row - a first for the Portuguese side - when they take to the field on Tuesday night. The Águias do not have a great record against German teams, having one just one of their last 15 encounters against such opposition. That win came against Kaiserslautern way back in November 1998.

The current Primiera Liga leaders come into this game on the back of back-to-back 3-0 home wins in the league, and having lost just two of their last 33 league matches. In this competition, they have been beaten just once in the last eight on home soil.

Meanwhile, Borussia Dortmund will be looking to maintain their unbeaten record in this year`s competition, having won four and drawn two during the group stages, scoring a record 21 goals in the process. Those games included a pair of wins against Sporting, also based in Lisbon.

The Germans men may have made the final of this competition in 2013 but in recent years their overall record has been poor, with just two wins from their last eight matches in the knockout stages.

Team news

Andrija Zivkovic is suspended for the home side, while Andre Horta, Jonas and Alex Grimaldo could all miss out through injury

Meanwhile, the visitors will have to make do without Sebastian Rode (muscular problem) and Sven Bender (Ankle), while it has also been reported that Mario Götze has not travelled to Portugal.

Recent form (All competitions)

Benfica: WWLLW

Borussia Dortmund: LWWDW

Betting odds and tips

With 11 clean sheets in their last 15 home games, Benfica have proven that they are tough to break down in their own backyard. Dortmund on the other hand, have won just three of their last nine away from home in all competitions including a defeat to relegation fodder Darmstadt 98 last time out.

As a result, the Benfica/Draw Double Chance looks good value at 4/7 with Bet365.

By Neil Morris

Published on: 13/02/2017

Any odds displayed within this preview were correct at the time of publishing (13/02/2017 16:22:16) but are subject to change.