Champions League
2012-04-04 - Chelsea vs Benfica
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: European Champions League, Quarter Final Second Leg
Wednesday 4 April 2012 - Kick Off 7:45pm
This game is live on TV
Chelsea lead 1-0 from the First Leg
Chelsea
Chelsea earned a big win in Portugal last week to put themselves in the driving seat to face Barcelona in the Champions League Semi Final. They continue to turn the corner under Roberto Di Matteo after an impressive 2-4 win at Aston Villa over the weekend and they will look to complete the job in impressive fashion at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night.
The team are still tracking the Champions League teams in the Premier League, currently trailing Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur by 5 points, but they can put that to the back burner for a couple of days at least. The Blues are 5-2-2 in the Champions League this season, while they have won all 4 games at Stamford Bridge, scoring at least 2 goals in each of those games.
The win at Villa Park means Chelsea have improved to 6-1-1 under Di Matteo, reaching the Semi Final of the FA Cup already and looking to do the same in Europe. The team are unbeaten in their last 9 home games in all competitions, and they had won 4 in a row before drawing 0-0 with Spurs in their last game in front of their own fans. They are 7-1-1 here in their last 9 Champions League games.
David Luiz has recovered from the knock that saw him leave the game on Saturday at half time. Didier Drogba and Raul Meireles are also in the squad after passing fitness tests.
Benfica
The home defeat in the first leg at the Stadium of Light will have been a big blow to Benfica, but they are not ready to concede this tie just yet. Jorge Jesus has said he is going to approach this game in the same manner as they did the first leg and they will look to attack Chelsea from the off and go for the goals that will send them through.
The Primeira Liga is going to have a tight end of the season as the top three teams are separated by just 2 points with Benfica currently 2nd in the table. The team are 6-5-2 in the Champions League this season, going 2-3-1 away from the Stadium of Light.
Benfica had a big 2-1 win over Sporting Braga at the weekend, stopping a mini-poor run of form as they had failed to win, or score, in their previous 2 games. They have not been playing that well away from home in recent games, winning just 1 of their last 5 away games, while they were beaten 3-2 in their last away game in the Champions League at Zenit St. Petersburg.
Luisao suffered an injury at the weekend and he could be missing for Benfica in this game. Miguel Vitor, Ezequiel Garay and Jardel are all absent, while Javi Garcia is in line to take Luisao's place if the Brazilian fails to pass a fitness test.
Head to Head
This is the first competitive game between the two teams in London.
Chelsea have won all 3 previous home games in European competition against sides from Portugal.
Benfica are 3-1-9 in trips to England, including a 2-2 draw at Manchester United in the Group Stage of the competition this season.
Prediction
I think Chelsea will not be taking this game for granted, but they did look the better team last week when the teams met at the Stadium of Light and I think they are the right favourites to win this game.
Benfica are going to play the same way as they always do and that means they are likely to come out with an attacking formation and will want to have a lot of possession. However, they looked very suspect at the back and that gives me absolute belief that Chelsea will score one and maybe two goals here.
That did lead me down the road to picking Over 2.5 Goals, especially considering that Benfica have scored in every away game in the Champions League this season, including at least 2 in their last 2 games at Manchester United and Zenit.
Chelsea have scored at least 3 goals in their last 3 home games in the Champions League and they scored 2 in the other game they have played at Stamford Bridge.
With Benfica intending to attack straight away, you can imagine there will be counter attack options for Chelsea, while the home defence is still not as water tight as it was in the Jose Mourinho heyday.
Granted, Benfica were poor last week, but I'll go with them giving a better performance this week and help cover the Overs.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Chelsea 3-1 Benfica
FIXED ODDS BETTING TIP :
I'll back Over 2.75 Goals @ 2.25 (188Bet)
