The return of Jorge Jesus to the helm at Benfica has sparked a run of six consecutive victories, which could well extend after their home encounter with Feyenoord Rotterdam. Even after Feyenoord's narrow win over Girona (3:2), the Dutch side do not pose a significant threat to Benfica, who feature two former Feyenoord Rotterdam players.
Following the international break, Benfica comfortably dispatched Pevidém (2:0) in the Portuguese Cup. In that match, they deployed an experimental lineup, with Jan-Niklas Beste, a summer signing from Heidenheim, scoring twice. Against Red Star Belgrade (2:1) and Atlético Madrid (4:0), the team played with authority, amassing a total of 4.78 xG in the Champions League. Turkish midfielders Kerem Aktürkoğlu and Orkun Kökçü have both placed in the tournament's top ten scorers, with two goals each.
Feyenoord Rotterdam will be without their leading forward Santiago Jiménez and creative winger Calvin Stengs for the trip to Benfica. They faltered at home against Bayer Leverkusen (0:4) in the first round (1.66 xGA). Despite being unbeaten in their last five matches, the team have been unable to tighten up defensively, conceding five goals in this stretch, and their clash with the Portuguese club will be their first major test since losing to Bayer Leverkusen.
In July, Benfica dismantled Feyenoord Rotterdam in a friendly, with both clubs fielding near full-strength squads (5:0). The home crowd is expected to rally Benfica to their third consecutive Champions League win.
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Lars Lagerbäck
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coach | ||
| Player | Matches | Goals | |
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Line-up
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Anatoliy Trubin
|
gk. | 2 | -1 |
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Alexander Hartmann Bah
|
df. | 2 | 1 |
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Nicolás Otamendi
|
df. | 2 | 0 |
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Álvaro Fernández Carreras
|
df. | 2 | 0 |
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Tomás Lemos Araújo
|
df. | 1 | 0 |
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Florentino
|
mf. | 2 | 0 |
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Fredrik Aursnes
|
mf. | 2 | 0 |
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Orkun Kökçü
|
mf. | 2 | 2 |
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Ángel Di María
|
mf. | 2 | 1 |
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Muhammed Kerem Aktürkoğlu
|
fw. | 2 | 2 |
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Vangelis Pavlidis
|
fw. | 2 | 0 |
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Substitutes
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|||
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André Gomes
|
gk. | 0 | 0 |
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Samuel Jumpe Soares
|
gk. | 0 | 0 |
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António João Pereira de Albuquerque Tavares da Silva
|
df. | 2 | 0 |
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Jan-Niklas Beste
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df. | 2 | 0 |
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Issa Kaboré
|
df. | 1 | 0 |
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Adrian Bajrami
|
df. | 0 | 0 |
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Diogo Ferreira Prioste
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mf. | 0 | 0 |
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Renato Júnior Luz Sanches
|
mf. | 0 | 0 |
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Benjamín Rollheiser
|
fw. | 2 | 0 |
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Mohamed Zeki Amdouni
|
fw. | 2 | 0 |
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Andreas Rædergård Schjelderup
|
fw. | 0 | 0 |
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Arthur Cabral
|
fw. | 0 | 0 |
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Brian Priske
|
coach | ||
| Player | Matches | Goals | |
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Line-up
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|||
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Timon Wellenreuther
|
gk. | 2 | -6 |
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David Hancko
|
df. | 2 | 0 |
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Gernot Trauner
|
df. | 2 | 0 |
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Mvula Jordan Lotomba
|
df. | 2 | 0 |
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Hugo Bueno López
|
df. | 1 | 0 |
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Antoni-Djibu Milambo
|
mf. | 2 | 1 |
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In-Beom Hwang
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mf. | 2 | 0 |
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Quinten Ryan Crispito Timber
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mf. | 2 | 0 |
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Ayase Ueda
|
fw. | 2 | 0 |
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Igor Guilherme Barbosa da Paixão
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fw. | 2 | 0 |
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Ibrahim Osman
|
fw. | 1 | 0 |
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Substitutes
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|||
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Justin Bijlow
|
gk. | 0 | 0 |
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Mannou Berger
|
gk. | 0 | 0 |
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Thomas Beelen
|
df. | 2 | 0 |
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Facundo González Molino
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df. | 1 | 0 |
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Gijs Smal
|
df. | 1 | 0 |
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Jeyland Yahir Mitchell Baltodano
|
df. | 1 | 0 |
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Ramiz Zerrouki
|
mf. | 2 | 0 |
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Anis Hadj Moussa
|
fw. | 1 | 0 |
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Julián Simón Carranza
|
fw. | 1 | 0 |
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Luka Ivanušec
|
fw. | 1 | 0 |
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Champions League
