Monaco and Benfica could only be drawn together for the upcoming Champions League playoffs, considering that the two teams totaled the same points in the first phase of the continental tournament, the result of the same number of wins, draws and defeats. Total balance but also apparent because chance wanted that in the European path, the two teams met and, to prevail, it was Benfica, who imposed themselves in the Principality by 2-3. That defeat marked a bit the descending part of the Monaco path that then inevitably ended in the Playoffs despite the premises being even better. For Benfica, however, the final in crescendo with the last decisive "note", played in Turin against Juventus with a success that certified the arrival to the next phase. We could therefore see the odds of the Portuguese Eagles as rising for this match unlike those of Monaco who, moreover, are coming off a heavy 4-1 suffered at the Parc des Princes against PSG. Benfica is also ahead not only in the previous match of this season but also in the other three, where they have collected two victories and a draw, therefore, past and present, they are pushing on the Portuguese but Monaco's potential is very high and, especially for this match at the Louis II, which will be refereed by Mariani, it is the home team who will start with the burden of getting a full result, awaiting the return match at the Da Luz on February 18.

Monaco's shape and key Statistics

Monaco's 2025 season hasn't started off in the best way, as in addition to suffering some rather large defeats (3-0 against Inter and 4-1 against PSG), they've only won 3 of their 9 games.tIn Ligue 1, Monaco is tied for third with Nice but 16 points off the top, while in the Champions League, Hutter's team finished in seventeenth place, scoring and conceding the same number of goals in the 8 games played: 13.

The curious thing is that Monaco won 3 of the 4 home games played in the Champions League, losing only one, precisely the one against Benfica

Benfica's shape and key Statistics

We have recalled how Benfica's path in the Champions League has been the same as that of their opponents, but it is worth highlighting the small recovery that Lage's team has had in the Portuguese League, winning the last 2 games against Estrela and Moreirense, both 3-2. This brings Benfica's goals scored in 21 league games to 49, for a notable average of 2.3 goals per game, which is not that far from Benfica's in the Champions League: 2 goals per match.

For the Portuguese, this Champions League has shown that playing away from home is certainly not a problem: in fact, Benfica has won 3 of the 4 matches played away from Da Luz.

Monaco – Benfica Prediction and Tactical Analysis

The direct clash played in the first phase of the tournament seems to us to be a good path traced to try to hypothesize the outcome of this first leg playoff: a 2-3 full of emotions and goals which is also the result that Benfica has obtained in the last two victories in the championship but, in general, there are many matches in which the Eagles have both scored and conceded goals. The recent history of Monaco is the same, which, in its last Ligue 1 matches, has given away goals in bursts. The BetMines algorithm prediction follows the history and therefore sees much more easily a match where both Monaco and Benfica will score.

• The BetMines algorithm prediction for the Monaco – Benfica match predicts that both teams will score at least one goal at 59%
• The BetMines algorithm prediction for the Monaco – Benfica match predicts that at least one of the two teams will not score at 41%.

Monaco vs Benfica Predicted Lineups

Monaco (4-2-3-1): Majecki; Vanderson, Kehrer, Salisu, Caio Henrique; Zakaria, Camara; Akliouche, Golovin, Minamino; Embolo. Coach: Hutter.

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