AS Monaco vs SL Benfica predictions, odds and betting tips

Monaco vs Benfica best bets

Benfica and Draw – 4/6 with SBK
BTTS (Yes) – 4/7 with Betfred
Vangelis Pavlidis to score or assist – 23/20 with Tote

Monaco vs Benfica odds

Find the latest match odds for Monaco vs Benfica. All odds are provided by our best football betting sites. Odds are subject to change.

Monaco vs Benfica predictions

Wednesday night’s clash in the Principality will be the second time the two teams have met at this venue this season.

The first meeting was on Matchday 5 of the Champions League group stage. Benfica ran out 3-2 winners thanks to goals from Vangelis Pavlidis, Arthur Cabral and Zeki Amdouni.

Revenge will be in the air when the two teams rematch. But with a second leg to come in Portugal, Monaco will need to be careful not to get too carried away and throw the tie away in the opening match.

Adi Hütter’s men finished 17th in the group table on 13 points, just one place below opponents Benfica.

Monaco made a very strong start to the Champions League group stage. Wins over Barcelona, Red Star and Bologna, along with a draw with Dinamo Zagreb gave them ten points from their opening four matches. At that point, a top-eight finish was on the cards.

Sadly for Adi Hütter, his team faltered in the second half of the group stage, picking up just one win over Aston Villa in their final four matches. The losses were to Benfica, Arsenal and Inter Milan.

Despite missing out on the top eight, Adi Hütter surely has to be satisfied with Monaco’s overall performance in the Champions League.

His team encountered some tough opponents along the way. And after such a strong start, qualification for playoffs at the very least was never in doubt.

Benfica has had a more up and down Champions League campaign than Wednesday’s opponents.

Bruno Lage’s team started with a win over Red Star. The victory came just a couple of weeks after Lage had been appointed Benfica manager on an 18-month contract.

A 4-0 win over Atletico followed. But back-to-back defeats against Feyenoord and Bayern Munich put the Eagles on the back foot.

Four points from their next two matches against Monaco and Bologna got Benfica back on track. Then on Matchday 7, disaster struck.

Lage’s team threw away a 4-2 lead over Barcelona, eventually going on to lose 5-4 in one of the matches of the season in the Champions League. At this point, Os Encarnados needed to produce something special to make the playoffs.

Lage then masterminded one of the results of the season for the Portuguese. Benfica travelled to Turin and defeated Juventus 2-0 at the Allianz Stadium. Goals from Vangelis Pavlidis and Orkun Kokcu sealed a famous victory.

Monaco vs Benfica betting tips

The bookmakers have Monaco as their betting favourites. But at odds against, the hosts are far from assured of taking a first leg lead to Portugal. Our Monaco vs Benfica betting tips are below:

Benfica and the draw

Monaco won three from four at home in the Champions League, but there is no doubt their form hasn’t been great in recent weeks.

The match looks to have come at the wrong time for Adi Hütter’s team. His team were thrashed 4-1 by PSG on Friday. The defeat was their second loss in their last four Ligue 1 matches.

Benfica come into the match on a winning streak of two in the Primeira Liga and three in all competitions.

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Bruno Lage’s team lost 3-1 to Casa Pia in the match before that winning run. But that was just after the Barcelona defeat and four days ahead of the trip to Turin to face Juve.

Monaco has won seven from 11 at home in Ligue 1 this season. The Stade Louis II is far from a fortress. We believe Benfica are in better form and will avoid defeat.

Back Benfica and the draw in the double chance market at 4/6 with SBK

Both teams to score

With a second leg to come, this encounter is not likely to be as open as the group stage match at this venue that produced five goals.

That said, both teams scored in three of Monaco’s home Champions League matches, and both teams have scored in eight of Monaco’s last 11 in all competitions, and in their last six Ligue 1 fixtures.

Both teams scored in two of Benfica’s away matches in the Champions League. The 1-0 defeat away to Bayern and the 2-0 win over Juve were the matches that failed to see this bet win.

In all competitions, Benfica has scored in their last nine matches. The last team to shut them out was Sporting Lisbon at the end of December.

Back both teams to score again at 4/7 with Betfred

Vangelis Pavlidis to score or assist

Vangelis Pavlidis has seven goals and four assists in 21 Primeira Liga matches. Not prolific. But an okay return.

In the Champions League, Pavlidis has been on fire. He has scored five goals and provided two assists in his eight UCL matches.

Pavlidis has played 566 minutes in Europe for Benfica this season. He has averaged a goal involvement in just over every 80 minutes.

Furthermore, the Greek forward is in great form in all competitions.

In his last two league games, he has scored three and provided one assist. He also scored one and provided an assist in the 2-0 win over Juve.

Back Vangelis Pavlidis to score or assist at 23/20 with Tote

How to watch Monaco vs Benfica

Location: Stade Louis II, Monaco.
Date and time: Wednesday 12th February, 8pm GMT.
How to watch: TNT Sports 4.

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