On this last day of the first phase of the new Champions League, full of calculations and predictions, Juventus, who is preparing to host Benfica at the Stadium, start from two certainties: the first is that, even if it loses, it will not be eliminated and the second is that only by winning could it hope to access the Round of 16. Certainly, this last case would require a series of favorable results that are truly difficult to imagine but, in any case, the Bianconeri's conduct will be marked by the search for victory while Benfica's could be a little more cautious. The Portuguese, in fact, have one point less than Juventus and are twenty-first. To remain in the top twenty-four, a draw would be enough while in the case of a defeat then elimination would be possible. So Bruno Lage's boys are the ones who will really play for something hot and probably they won't do it with their minds cleared, given that they come from a defeat against Casa Pia that makes Sporting escape at the top of the league and from an incredible 4-5 against Barcelona in the Champions League with the final comeback of the blaugrana. Juventus certainly has its negative thoughts accumulated during the week and amplified by the KO in Naples, therefore, both for the home team and for the guests, a positive result would first of all have the function of plugging a difficult situation, given that the most likely scenario is to see both teams play the playoffs in February.

Juventus' shape and key statistics

The significant confidence boost that Juventus had from the 2-0 against Milan quickly dissipated: in small part with the somewhat disappointing draw with Bruges, in large part with the 2-1 defeat against Napoli, mainly the result of a disappointing and defeatist second half.

The Champions League conducted so far by the Bianconeri can be considered more than decent, especially for the defensive resistance (only 5 goals conceded). The seventeenth place that comes from 3 wins, 3 draws and 1 defeat is what could be expected from the Bianconeri who, however, too many times in attack seemed a bit sterile (only 9 goals scored in the Champions League).

At the Stadium, for now, Juventus have lost only 1 time this season, against Stuttgart while there are only 12 victories this season in 31 matches played.

Benfica's shape and Key Statistics

Benfica's last two defeats against Barcelona (4-5) and Casa Pia (3-1) risk affecting the Eagles' season in the two main competitions.

Benfica's Champions League so far has been quite "in fits and starts": 3 wins, 3 losses and only 1 draw (against Bologna) which would be the result that would suit the Portuguese who, in the last month (from December 29th until now) have already lost 4 games while there are 2 away European successes so far this season: against Red Star and Monaco.

Match prediction and tactical overview

Benfica could want and be able to play a match with the aim of drawing it and, considering that Juventus knows a thing or two about draws, that of an X sign or in any case of an “even” clash is not a prospect to be discarded. Also for this reason, the start of the match or in any case its general conduct could be studied enough by both teams and this would facilitate the development of a match with few goals. The prediction of the BetMines algorithm, therefore, sees a match with a maximum of three total goals better.

• The prediction of the BetMines algorithm for the Juventus - Benfica match predicts an Under 3.5 goals at 68%
• The prediction of the BetMines algorithm for the Juventus - Benfica match predicts an Over 3.5 goals at 32%

Juventus - Benfica predicted lineups

Juventus (4-2-3-1): Di Gregorio; Savona, Kalulu, Gatti, Cambiaso; Thuram, Locatelli; Conceiçao, Koopmeiners, Yildiz, Kolo Muani. All: Motta.

Benfica (4-3-3): Trubin; Carreras, Otamendi, Silva, Araujo; Kocku, Florentino, Aursnes; Schjelderup, Akturkoglu, Pavlidis. All: Lage