Benfica take on the visitors Real Sociedad in the round 3 match of UEFA Champions League group stage. The match will be played on Tuesday, October 24th at Estádio da Luz (Lisbon).
Benfica experienced its main failure of the season in the Champions League. The Eagles made a significant investment in Roger Schmidt in the summer of last year. The German coach more than justified their trust, finally bringing the club back to the top of the Primeira Liga. They also managed to reach the Champions League playoffs, but this was a repeat of what they had achieved under previous managers. The team, which underwent changes in the summer (as is traditional, they had many transfers, including the purchase of Trubin, who has now become the main goalkeeper in his new place), managed to defeat Porto twice, in the Super Cup and the Primeira Liga. However, there were still disappointments, including a defeat to the title holder, Boavista, in the opening match. Most importantly, as of now, the Portuguese team has not secured any points in the Champions League. Their first match was a complete disaster, with red cards and penalties, against Red Bull – they lost 0-2 at home to the visitors from Salzburg. Things went a bit better in Milan against Inter, but what's the use if Turam scored the only goal there in the middle of the second half? Now, in order to advance to the playoffs, they must secure maximum points against their opponents from San Sebastian.
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Real Sociedad have previous experience in the main continental tournament, although it dates back quite a while. Under the current coach, Imanol Alguacil, they made several attempts to return to that level. However, they consistently faced failures, finishing outside the top four in La Liga (although they won the Cup, securing their first title in decades). It was only in the previous season, with Sevilla's sharp decline, that they became regular members of the top four. Now, however, Zakharian and his new teammates have had a less-than-ideal start. But they are putting up a worthy fight in the Champions League. Inter, the finalist from the previous edition, narrowly avoided defeat, thanks to Lautaro Martinez's goal in the 87th minute. Then, they scored twice against Red Bull in Salzburg, eventually defeating the Austrians on their turf.
Although these are representatives of neighboring countries, Portuguese and Spanish teams have never played even friendly matches against each other. Benfica have more experience and is playing on their home turf. However, the Spaniards will certainly try not to lose, so we will choose the neutral option of total under 2.5 goals.
Prediction for the match: Under 2.5 scored goals.
