Europe Champions League - Round 2

[spkutano]

 

[spkutano]

Chelsea vs Benfica Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Chelsea:
Sanchez; Gusto, Chalobah, Badiashile, Cucurella; Fernandez, Lavia; Estevao, Buonanotte, Garnacho; Pedro

Benfica:
Trubin; Dedic, Otamendi, A. Silva, Dahl; Barrenechea, Rios; Lukebakio, Sudakov, Schjelderup; Pavlidis

Chelsea will welcome Benfica to Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night. The Blues haven't started the new season according to expectations. In one word, they are inconsistent. Chelsea played a goalless draw with Crystal Palace, while conceded a late goal at Brentford to drop another two points. The victories against West Ham and Fulham improved the atmosphere in the squad, but then came a big disappointment. Chelsea suffered a painful defeat from Manchester United at Old Trafford and lost to Brighton at Stamford Bridge on Saturday. The matches was virtually decided by the expulsions of Robert Sanchez and Chalobah. The inconsistency remain a problem in Europe too. Maresca's side lost 3:1 to Bayern Munich in the opening round of the Champions League. The Italian tactician is currently under big pressure, although his job is safe. But few more poor results and everything could happen. To be worse, Maresca has big injury issues ahead of this match. He will be missing Cole Palmer, Levi Colwill, Liam Delap, Dario Essugo, Tosin Adarabioyo and Wesley Fofana.

Sometimes strange things happens, like Jose Mourinho's story. He was Fenerbahce coach and faced Benfica in the Champions League play-off round. After the goalless draw in Istanbul, Fenerbahce lost 1:0 in Lisbon and suffered elimination for the second consecutive year. The domestic results were also poor, Galatasaray have established a big domination in SuperLig. That is why the club officials decided to sack Mourinho. But first round of the Champions League group stage have produced one of the biggest surprises in competition history. Benfica had a 2:0 lead against Qarabag after 18 minutes and even the Azerbaijani fans gave up. But not the players, they managed to score three goals, registering their first victory in the group. Coach Bruno Lage was sacked and replaced by Jose Mourinho. The Special One has four players unavailable. Manu Silva and Alexander Bah are both working their way back from knee injuries, but this match comes too soon. Winger Bruma will be out for a longer period with a ruptured Achilles. Finally, the 19-year-old Gianluca Prestianni is on international duty, representing Argentina at the U-20 World Cup in Chile.

Chelsea vs Benfica Prediction:

Benfica travel to London, as Jose Mourinho once again returns to Stamford Bridge. He won three league titles and several cup trophies across two spells at the club. According to many pundits, he is between the greatest managers in Chelsea’s history. But now he's on the opposite side and he will try to upset the Blues. The Special One is no more close to the club hierarchy as the current owner Todd Boehly replaced Roman Abramovich four years ago, but the fans have not forget him. I expect a warm welcome and lot of emotions, maybe some tear too. About the match, I expect goals from both sides. Chelsea and Benfica have lost in the opening round and the points from this match are extremely important. Chelsea are favorites for two reasons. First, the home advantage. Chelsea fans will strongly support their players and this fact should not be underestimated. Second reason is connect with the tradition - Benfica have failed to win any of their last seven games against English opposition in UEFA competitions. However, the Portuguese side led by Mourinho, are definitely able to score. Vangelis Pavlidis has already upset the English fans by scoring twice last October in a deserved 2:1 victory in Nations League Group B2 at Wembley.

Chelsea vs Benfica Pick: Both teams to score - Yes @ 1.65 with Everygame

 

[spkutano]

Barcelona vs Paris Saint-Germain Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Barcelona:
Szczesny; Kounde, Cubarsi, Araujo, Martin; Pedri, De Jong; Yamal, Olmo, Rashford; Lewandowski

Paris Saint-Germain:
Chevalier; Hakimi, Zabarnyi, Pacho, Mendes; Lee, Vitinha, Zaire-Emery; Mbaye, Ramos, Barcola

Barcelona will welcome the reigning champions PSG in the most interesting clash on Wednesday night. Both teams started the campaign with victories. The Catalans beat 2:1 Newcastle United at St James Park. The Magpies, supported by the typically noisy and passionate fans, gave as good as they got for almost an hour until Marcus Rashford scored his first goal. He scored another in the 67th minute and secured the victory. Barca controlled the ball in the remaining period, but Anthony Gordon still found the back of the net. However, that was all they did. The Blaugrana team were also successful for the weekend. Goal from Robert Lewandowski secured the victory against Real Sociedad in domestic La Liga. The Polish striker has just recovered from a groin injury and coach Flick is definitely happy to have him in the team. However, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Gavi, Joan Garcia, Fermin Lopez and Raphinha remain sidelined. On the positive note, Alejandro Balde has return from a hamstring problem.

Almost a year ago Luis Enrique was under heavy pressure. Paris Saint-Germain were very inconsistent in the group phase and even their fans thought reaching the knock-out stage will be the maximum for their club. Nevertheless, Enrique and his players managed to eliminate three Premier League sides on the way to the final - Liverpool, Aston Villa and Arsenal. In the final PSG demolished 5:0 Inter Milan and lifted the trophy. The Parisians also won the European Super Cup in August, though didn't start convincingly in domestic Ligue 1. They suffered a painful 1:0 derby loss to Marseille in Le Classique. However, the results in Europe are still excellent. Paris Saint-Germain won 4:0 against Atalanta in the opening round of the Champions League. Four goals were scored by four different players - Marquinhos, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Nuno Mendes and Goncalo Ramos. The players confidence is high, but coach Enrique has some serious injury worries. Ballon d'Or winner Ousmane Dembele is not expected to return from his hamstring injury until the end of October. Four additional players are also sidelined due to injury -
Desire Doue, Joao Neves, Fabian Ruiz and captain Marquinhos. To be worse, Vitinha and Kvaratskhelia are both rated as doubtful.

Barcelona vs Paris Saint-Germain Prediction:

Both teams started the Champions League season with victories. Barcelona beat Newcastle United at St James Park, while Paris Saint-Germain demolished Atalanta. The players confidence is high in both squads. It is hard to predict the winners, but if I have to pick one team, that's Barcelona. There are two main reasons. First is the home advantage. I am well aware of the fact PSG beat the Catalans away from home in both 2021 and 2024, but one name was crucial - Kilian Mbappe. He is not part of the Parisians anymore and that is why I will give some advantage to Barcelona. But there is another reason, several important players are injured, including Ballon d'Or winner Ousmane Dembele. Furthermore, Desire Doue, Joao Neves, Fabian Ruiz and captain Marquinhos are also sidelined, while Vitinha and Kvaratskhelia are rated as doubtful. This is a big handicap for Enrique.

Barcelona vs Paris Saint-Germain Pick: Barcelona to win @ 1.85 with Pinnacle