Real Madrid will look to solidify their bye to the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 when they travel to Portugal to take on 
Benfica Lisbon on Wednesday.
Los Blancos currently sit in third place in the UCL league phase standings with five wins and two losses for 15 points. A win would guarantee a finish in the top-eight, while a draw should also be enough to book their ticket to the last 16.
Madrid routed Monaco 6-1 last week, with Kylian Mbappé scoring twice against his former club.
The Galacticos beat Villarreal 2-0 in La Liga action over the weekend, but still sit one point behind leaders 
FC Barcelona in the league table.
Benfica, meanwhile, have had a disappointing Champions League campaign so far, winning just two games and losing five. Sitting in 29th place with six points, the Jose Mourinho’s side will need a win if they want any chance of making the knockout playoffs. They lost 2-0 to Juventus on Matchday 7.
The Eagles are in third place in the Primeira Liga standings, 10 points adrift of leaders FC Porto. They’re fresh off a 4-0 win over CF Estrela da Amadora over the weekend.
Real Madrid and Benfica have faced each other on three previous occasions in the Champions League, with the Spaniards claiming two wins. Their last meeting dates all the way back tot he 1964-65 season, when Benfica advanced past Madrid with a 6-3 aggregate win in the quarterfinals.
Where to Watch Real Madrid vs Benfica
- When: Wednesday, January 28 – 3PM ET / 12PM PT
- Where: Estadio Da Luz, Lisbon
- Where to watch in the United States: CBS Sports, Paramount+
Real Madrid vs Benfica Betting Odds
- Real Madrid to win: -140
- Draw: +310
- Benfica to win: +350
- Both teams to score (Yes/No): -192 / +150
- Over/Under 3.5 goals: +130 / -160
- Kylian Mbappé first goalscorer: +260
- Vinicius Jr anytime goalscorer: +140
- Jude Bellingham anytime goalscorer: +230
- Kylian Mbappé to score 2 or more goals: +300
Odds courtesy of FanDuel.
Benfica Team News and Predicted Lineup
Benfica predicted lineup (4-2-3-1): Anatoliy Trubin (GK) – Amar Dedic, Tomas Araujo, Nicolas Otamendi, Samuel Dahl – Leandro Barreiro, Fredrik Aursnes – Andreas Schjelderup, Georgiy Sudakov, Gianluca Prestianni – Vangelis Pavlidis.
Real Madrid Team News and Predicted Lineup
Alvaro Arbeloa still has to deal with injuries to key players, but he has a red-hot Mbappé in his pocket for the trip to Portugal.
The Frenchman has scored five goals over his last three games, and should start alongside Vinicius Jr and Franco Mastantuono on Wednesday.
Aurelien Tchouameni should be back amongst the starters after serving a suspension in the win over Villarreal, and could be joined by Arda Guler and Eduardo Camavinga.
On defense, left-back Alvaro Carreras is set to face his former club for the first time since moving from Lisbon to Madrid in the summer transfer window.
Real Madrid predicted lineup (4-3-3): Thibaut Courtois (GK) – Federico Valverde, Raul Asencio, Dean Huijsen, Alvaro Carreras – Arda Guler, Eduardo Camavinga, Jude Bellingham – Franco Mastantuono, Kylian Mbappé, Vinicius Jr.
Tottenham Submit £87m Bid to Sign £260,000-a-Week ‘Phenomenon’
Tottenham have already made two first-team signings this window and that could turn to three in the final days of the window
About Author
