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Benfica are aiming to tie up their Champions League campaign with a victory on Wednesday night. This hasn’t been a perfect year for the Eagles, but it’s a major improvement on their European form in 2017/18. They are already out of the running for second place, finishing up a distant third behind Bayern Munich and Ajax. Will they go out on a positive note here, or are we going to see AEK Athens pick up their first point of the group stage campaign when they head to Portugal?
Benfica are in a fight just to feature in this competition next season, having fallen to third in the table. They’re behind Braga in the race for the second and final Champions League spot, while Porto lead the way. It looks set to be two years in a row where Benfica fail to lift the title, following their impressive domination of the Primeira Liga. That all came to an end thanks to a poor start last season, when they crashed out of the Champions League group stage with six defeats from six.
That same fate faces AEK in this trip, following their five comprehensive defeats so far. While the Greek side did well to come through qualifying, they just haven’t look up to this level. Ajax and Bayern won home and away to AEK, while Benfica pulled off a last-gasp 3-2 win in the reverse fixture. It’s a pretty low-key exit for the side who took out Celtic in the qualifiers, but can the visitors finish up by getting a positive result?
They’ll be boosted by the fact that this one is a dead rubber. Benfica’s four points puts them out of reach from AEK, so the Portuguese giants are heading for the Europa League. The hosts have been plagued with defensive issues in Europe of late, having shipped 11 goals through their five group games to date. In 16 matches in this competition, the Eagles have managed one clean sheet. That includes their play-off clash with Greek side PAOK in August, where both teams scored in each clash, and the meeting in Lisbon finished 1-1.
AEK have had a tough time finding the net against Bayern and Ajax, but they have goals in their side. Their first six matches in this competition this season saw both teams score on five occasions, including their 3-2 thriller against Benfica. We expect more goals here, in a clash where both sides will want to pull off something to remember. Neither defence seems that impressive, and with little to focus either backline I am backing both teams to score.
Benfica had won 3 goals to 2 in Greece in the first leg.
Benfica has recorded 5 victories in its last 6 outings, in all competitions.
AEK Athens is on a losing streak of 5 Champions League losses!
AEK Athens suffered the law of Ajax Amsterdam (3-0) and Bayern Munich (2-0) away.
Benfica plans to offer a first home win to its supporters.
Conclusion
AEK Athens is likely to finish its European campaign with a pointed zero and the beanie! Benfica will not want to miss the opportunity to leave the C1 on a success in front of his supporters.