Champions League Preview: Bayern Munich vs Benfica | OneFootball

Both Bayern Munich and Benfica will be looking to bounce back from their defeats in their previous Champions League matches as they face each other at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday night.

Bayern lost 4-1 against Barcelona on matchday three whilst Benfica suffered a 3-1 defeat against Feyenoord.

Vincent Kompany’s side have enjoyed a fantastic start to the season in the Bundesliga as they currently sit top of the table and are the only side yet to lose a game so far.

However, in the Champions League things have not gone as smoothly.

Bayern have lost two of their three opening games, leaving them 24th in the new Champions League format out of 36 teams.

Kompany shared his opinion on the format and the targets he wants his side to achieve.

“You probably need to win six matches to finish in the top eight. Three is probably enough for the play-offs. Of course, my objective is the top eight. We’ve won one match now, so it’s clear what we need in the remaining matches. We’ve just had two away games. It’s different against every club, so it’s difficult to look at the table.”

Benfica have had a positive start to their domestic season as they have lost just one game however they do currently sit eight points behind the league leaders Sporting Lisbon, who are yet to lose.

Before their loss to Feyenoord in their recent Champions League match, Bruno Lage’s side had also had a positive start to their European campaign, as they kicked off with a win against Red Star Belgrade and then with a stunning victory over Spanish giants Atletico Madrid 4-0.

This now leaves them in 13th place which would earn them a spot in the play-offs to qualify for the last 16.

In the ten times that these side have met, Bayern have won seven times and there have been three draws.

“They will be a difficult opponent, a very competent team, but I think they’re looking at us that way too,” said Lage.

“So regardless of the points Bayern have, or ours, I think it’s going to be a very interesting game, a very competitive game, with both teams looking at their opponents and seeing how difficult they are.”

Bayern Munich and Benfica Team News

Josip Stanisic, Hiroki Ito, Aleksander Pavlovic and Sacha Boey will all be missing through injury.

Pavlovic recently retuned to individual training whilst Ito required further surgery on his metatarsal which took place on Tuesday.

Benfica will be without Leandro Barreiro, Gianluca Prestianni and Tiago Guveia who are all also suffering with injury.

GGFN | Matthew Gritton