by Ian S. Palmer
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Reigning German Bundesliga titleholders Bayern Munich will be visiting Lisbon this Wednesday, April 13th to take on Portugal’s Benfica in the second round of their two-legged, European Champions League quarterfinal matchup. Bayern were 1-0 winners in the first leg at home at the Allianz Arena in Munich on April 5 and can wrap up the series with a win or tie in Portugal. Benfica can force extra time with a 1-0 win in 90 minutes, but any other one-goal victory by the Portuguese side will see Bayern advance to the semifinals because of the away goals rule. Benfica needs to win by at least two goals if Bayern should happen to score. If the match does go to extra time it will be decided by a penalty shootout if it’s still tied after the extra 30 minutes.
Bet on Benfica vs Bayern Munich – Pinnacle SOCCER BETTING LINE:
- Pinnacle currently lists Bayern Munich as the favorites to win the 9-minute game at -148 with Benfica +477 and a draw at +300
Benfica vs Bayern Munich – 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.
Bayern advanced to the final eight after ousting Italian champions Juventus 6-4 on aggregate while Benfica reached the quarterfinals following their 3-1 aggregate victory over Zenit St. Petersburg of Russia. Both Benfica and Bayern head into the game as leaders in their respective domestic leagues. Benfica beat Academica Coimbra 2-1 away while Bayern beat Stuttgart 3-1 away on Saturday. Benfica sits atop the Portuguese league with 73 points from 24 wins, one draw and four losses. They’ve scored 78 goals and allowed 20 against. Meanwhile, Bayern has accumulated 75 points from 24 victories, three draws and two defeats. They’ve scored 69 times and allowed a league-low 14 against.
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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 European 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.
Bayern is 17-9 in European Cup quarterfinal appearances and have lost just once in their last 17 games against Portuguese sides. They’ve won 15, drawn eight and lost just twice overall to Portuguese opposition with 56 goals for and 18 allowed. Bayern has six wins and six draws on the road during that stretch. Both of their defeats came at the hands of Porto. Benfica’s record in quarterfinal games is eight wins and nine defeats. The Portuguese club has played German teams 41 times overall with 12 wins, 13 draws and 16 losses. They have 10 victories at home along with seven draws and three defeats.
Bayern 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 visitors and Benatia, Jerome Boateng and Arjen Robben are also listed as doubtful. For Benfica, Julio Cesar, Lisandro Lopez, Luisao and Nuno Santos are all questionable. Benfica has won 20 of their past 22 games in all competitions and have failed to score just once at home. Bayern has six straight wins in all competitions.