The Matchday 5 encounter of the 2024/25 Champions League group stage between Monaco (France) and Benfica (Portugal) will take place on November 27 at the Louis II Stadium. Monaco vs. Benfica: prediction and betting odds, statistics.
Referee: Rade Obrenovic (Slovenia)
Matches – 12 (International matches, 2023/24–2024/25);
Yellow cards shown (including second yellows) – 43;
Average yellow cards per match – 3.6;
Red cards shown – 1;
Average fouls per match – 19;
Penalties – 33%.
Predicted lineups for Monaco vs. Benfica
Monaco (4-2-3-1): Philipp Köhn – Vanderson, Thilo Kehrer, Wilfried Singo, Caio Henrique – Soungoutou Magassa, Lamine Camara – Maghnes Akliouche, Takumi Minamino, Aleksandr Golovin – Breel Embolo.
Benfica (4-5-1): Anatoliy Trubin – Alexander Bah, Antonio Silva, Nicolas Otamendi, Alvaro Carreras – Kerem Akturkoglu, Florentino, Angel Di Maria, Fredrik Aursnes, Orkun Kokcu – Vangelis Pavlidis.
Monaco
In the last round, Adi Hutter's side defeated Italian club Bologna away (1-0). As a result, Monaco extended their unbeaten run in the Champions League to seven matches (3 wins, 4 draws). For the first time in their last nine games in this tournament, the team kept a clean sheet. With ten points, Monaco is in third place in the standings. Notably, with ten goals scored in the group stage, the French side is only behind three clubs in this metric.
Midfielder Krepin Diatta and forward Folarin Balogun will miss the game due to injuries.
- The club has not won in regular time in 9 of their last 12 home matches in the Champions League (1 draw, 8 losses).
- Both opponents scored in 7 of Monaco's last 10 home games in the Champions League within 90 minutes.
- Monaco conceded exactly one goal in regular time in their last five home matches in this European competition.
Benfica
Bruno Lage's side lost 0-1 away to Bayern Munich in the last round. This defeat was Benfica's second consecutive loss in the Champions League, despite starting the group stage with two wins. Additionally, for the first time in seven matches in this European competition, the Lisbon club failed to score in regular time. In the standings, the Portuguese club remains with six points, occupying only the 19th position.
Forwards Gianluca Prestianni and Tiago Gouveia will not play due to injuries.
- The team has not lost in regular time in 12 of their last 15 away matches in the Champions League (8 wins, 4 draws).
- The club has scored at least two goals in 9 of their last 13 away matches in the Champions League within 90 minutes.
- The number "1" appeared in the scoreline at the end of regular time in 8 of Benfica's last 10 away matches in this European competition.
Monaco vs. Benfica: Match Prediction
At home, Monaco prefers to play aggressively and focus on attack. This is also true for the Champions League: in their last 21 home matches, Monaco failed to break through the opponent's defense in regular time only five times. In the current edition of this European competition, the team scored seven goals in two home matches, including two against Barcelona. However, in their last 15 home games in the Champions League, the French club has never kept a clean sheet in regular time.
Benfica plays in a similar manner even in away games. In 12 of their last 14 away matches in the Champions League, the team scored in regular time, failing to score only against strong sides like Bayern Munich and Inter during this period. However, in 9 of their last 10 away matches in this tournament, the Portuguese team also conceded within 90 minutes.
I expect a high-scoring game from both opponents in this match, so my prediction: Both teams to score – yes
