Zenit hosts Benfica in round 2 of the Champions League group stage. The match will be played on Wednesday, October 2nd at Gazprom Arena (Saint Petersburg)
St. Petersburg Zenit approaches to this important match not in the best mood, because on the eve, the Blue-White-Sky Blues lost to Lokomotiv Moscow in a kind of derby of the two capitals (0:1). That defeat has complicated the defense of the champion’s title. Zenit lost deservedly, having failed to reveal its best qualities when they were needed very much. For now, Sergei Semak’s men feel not bad in the Champions League because they gained a draw in the first away round of the group against famous French Lyon. But I must say that it was precisely Zenit who did not deserve to win that match, even given the far from the best shape of the Kids who distribute points to the right and left in their local championship.
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As for Benfica, this well-known European cup fighter has already met Russian teams in European competitions, and it knows firsthand how to deal with them. Moreover, the defeat in the upcoming match will be like death for the Eagles, who lost in the opening meeting of the current Champions League to German Leipzig (1:2). Moreover, it should be noted that the Portuguese do not lack shape before the match with Zenit, having gained 4 victories in a row in Primeira (one of them was gained over Sporting Braga with an indecent 4-0 score away). And this team recently knocked out Spartak Moscow from the Europa League.
By the way, Portuguese clubs have a noticeable advantage in head-to-head matches with Russian teams in the current Euro season, having gained 3 victories against one defeat (Porto and Krasnodar exchanged successes, and aforementioned Braga twice beat Spartak). I believe that Zenit is no better than Benfica today, and therefore the Reds may well get a positive result in the city on the Neva. Finally, I recall that the Eagles probably still cause unpleasant feelings in St. Petersburg, having inflicted two defeats on Zenit in the 1/8 finals of the Champions League in 2016 (1:0 + 2:1).
Prediction for the match: Benfica to win with +0.5 handicap
