Bayern Munich vs Benfica

Bayern Munich and Benfica have no margin for error as they square off in a high-stakes UEFA Champions League meeting at the Allianz Arena.

Bayern Munich’s first European campaign under Vincent Kompany was off to a flyer as they trounced Dinamo Zagreb 9-2 in a history-making Champions League win on matchday one. However, they’ve since slumped to back-to-back defeats to Aston Villa and Barcelona, putting the ex-Manchester City captain under tremendous pressure. The Bavarians responded kindly to a 4-1 thumping in Spain, stitching together three domestic wins, including a 3-0 rout of Union Berlin last weekend to go alone at the top of the Bundesliga table as the only unbeaten side in the division (W7, D2). Another success is on the cards, considering they have never lost a game against Benfica (W9, D3). That’s not to mention they’ve won their last six home encounters against Portuguese visitors while scoring 25 goals for good measure.

Like their hosts, Benfica slipped to a dismal defeat on matchday three, succumbing to a 3-1 home loss to Feyenoord after winning their opening two Champions League games against Atletico Madrid and Red Star Belgrade by a 6-1 aggregate score. However, Bruno Lage’s men have got back on track after that round-three fiasco, winning three consecutive domestic matches by a 10-1 aggregate score to set themselves up nicely for this trip. History is firmly against the Eagles in this fixture, given that they’ve only ever won two of their 27 visits to German clubs (D7, L18). Against this backdrop, they’ve incredibly suffered just two defeats across their last 14 Champions League away games, including qualifiers (W8, D4).