by Ian S. Palmer
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Reigning German Bundesliga titleholders Bayern Munich will be squaring off against Portugal’s Benfica in the first round of their two-legged, European Champions League quarterfinal matchup this Tuesday, April 5 at the Allianz Arena in Munich. Bayern advanced from the round of 16 after ousting Italian champions Juventus 6-4 on aggregate. Benfica find themselves in the final eight following their 3-1 victory over Zenit St. Petersburg of Russia. Bayern and Juventus played to a 2-2 draw in Turin and Munich which sent the series to extra time. The home side then scored twice to move on. Benfica won their home match 1-0 and were 2-1 winners in Russia.
Bet on Bayern Munich vs Benfica – Pinnacle SOCCER BETTING LINE:
- Pinnacle currently lists Bayern Munich as the favorites at -528 with Benfica +1935 and a draw at +667
Bayern Munich vs Benfica – Head to Head:
- Benfica and Bayern have met three times in the past in Europe with the German side winning all three series. They met in the quarter-finals of the European Champion Clubs’ Cup in 1975/76 with a 0-0 draw in Lisbon and a 5-1 Bayern win in Munich. They played in the second round of the 1981/82 European with a 0-0 draw in Lisbon and a 4-1 Bayern victory at home. The last time they met was in the third round of the 1995/96 with Bayern winning 4-1 at home and 3-1 in Lisbon.
Both teams head into the game as leaders in their respective domestic leagues. Benfica last played on Friday and beat Braga 5-1 at home while Bayern beat Eintracht 1-0 at home on Saturday. Benfica sits atop the Portuguese league with 70 points from 23 wins, one draw and four losses. They’ve scored 76 goals and allowed 19 against. Meanwhile, Bayern has accumulated 72 points from 23 victories, three draws and two defeats. They’ve scored 66 times and allowed a league-low 13 against.
Bayern topped Group F in the group stage of the Champions League with five wins and a loss for 15 points while scoring 19 goals and conceding three. Benfica finished second place in the group stage in Group C behind Atletico Madrid of Spain. They had three wins, a draw and two losses with 10 goals scored and eight allowed. Bayern has won the title five times, with their last triumph coming in the 2012/13 campaign, but were knocked out at the semifinal stage in the last two seasons though. They won all three of their home matches in the group stage by a combined score of 14-1.
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Bayern is 17-9 in European Cup quarterfinal appearances and have won all four home games this year. They’ve lost just once in their last 16 games against Portuguese sides. They’ve won 14, drawn eight and lost just twice overall to Portuguese opposition with 55 goals for and 18 allowed. Bayern has nine wins and two draws at home during that stretch. Both of their defeats came at the hands of Porto. Benfica’s record in quarterfinal games is eight wins and eight defeats. The Portuguese club has just two wins on their last eight European road trips. They’ve played German teams 40 times with 12 wins, 13 draws and 15 losses with two away wins along with six draws and 13 defeats. However, the two wins were on their past three visits.
The German side has reached the semifinals the last four years running and Benfica last made it to the final four in 1990 when the Champions League was still known as the European Cup. Badstuber is out for the season for the home side and Javi Martinez is still sidelined. In addition, Jerome Boateng and Arjen Robben are also listed as doubtful. For Benfica, Julio Cesar, Lisandro Lopez, Luisao and Nuno Santos are all questionable.