UEFA Champions League Prediction: Benfica – Atletico Madrid (02-10-2024)

The renewed UEFA Champions League returned last week, and the second round will be broadcast in the first week of October. The league’s new format allows viewers to see top-class matches every week, with plenty of intrigue and unpredictable results.

The second round includes matches like Arsenal vs. PSG, Bayer vs. AC Milan, and Aston Villa vs. Bayern. Let’s take a closer look at the Benfica vs. Atletico Madrid game, which will take place in Lisbon on 2 October.

Atletico Madrid did a very solid job in the summer transfer market. Julian Alvarez, Conor Gallagher, Robin Le Normand, Alexander Sorloth were acquired, while only a few players – Joao Felis, Sam Omorodion, Alvaro Morata, Caglar Soyuncu – were parted with.

However, as the season starts, we can see that last year’s problem remains unresolved – the away performance is much worse than at home. In La Liga, three away games were played, two of which ended in draws against Villarreal and Rayo Vallecano and a 0-1 win against Athletic Bilbao.

Benfica sold several important players in the summer – Joao Neves, Marcos Leonardo, David Neres – and acquired Vangelis Pavlidis, Kerem Akturkoglu, Benjamin Rollheiser, and Jan-Niklas Beste.

The names on the squad are much less well-known than those on the Atletico team, but this does not mean that the level is worse.

Both teams won in the first round of the UEFA Champions League. Atletico scored the winning goal against RB Leipzig in the 90th minute, and Benfica beat Crvena Zvezda 2-1 away.

The Portuguese championship is much weaker than the Spanish one, but it is worth noting that Benfica look solid here. All three wins have come at home – 3-0, 1-0 and 4-1. With Atletico’s poor away record, there is a good chance that we won’t see their best performance in Lisbon.

The Atletico – Real Madrid derby is still to come this weekend, which will also require more effort than Benfica’s home game against Gil Vicente. Benfica has every chance of not only drawing but also beating Atletico Madrid.

This UEFA Champions League prediction is for guidance only and we are not responsible for your bets.