Benfica – Real Madrid: Mourinho Faces His Past in a Survival Match 
Wednesday night at the Estadio da Luz brings a tense, history-soaked clash. Benfica sit 29th and teetering on the brink — they must beat Real Madrid to have any hope of snatching one of the last qualifying spots. Madrid, third, aren’t safe either: only two points separate them from Juventus in 15th.
Benfica: Campaign in chaos, one slim hope left 
The Lisbon side started the group horribly: four straight defeats. A real hole. 2-0 wins over Ajax and Napoli briefly rebooted things… then a new setback in Turin where Juventus dominated 2-0. Benfica no longer control their own fate.
To even sniff the top 24 they must win and pray for favorable results elsewhere. Unlikely, but not impossible — they’ve beaten this opponent twice in three meetings, including that 5-1 at Da Luz. Mourinho’s men do arrive with home confidence restored: four straight home wins, including a tidy 4-0 over Estrela Amadora. A relief after three defeats that dumped them out of both domestic cups.
Real Madrid: Shaken, but dangerous again 
Real endured a rocky few weeks: Super Cup loss to Barça, Xabi Alonso sacked, then Copa del Rey exit to Albacete under Arbeloa. Since then Madrid have found form: three straight wins, including a 2-0 at Villarreal thanks to a Kylian Mbappé brace.
Mbappé is on fire: two more against Monaco in the CL takes him to 11 goals in the competition, matching a Cristiano Ronaldo record. With five wins in seven European matches, Real need just one victory to seal a place in the last 16. History helps them too: eight wins in their last ten meetings with Portuguese clubs, including four straight away wins.
Probable line-ups
Benfica :
Trubin ; Dedic, Araujo, Otamendi, Dahl ; Aursnes, Barrenechea ; Prestianni, Barreiro, Sudakov ; Pavlidis
Real Madrid :
Courtois ; Valverde, Asencio, Huijsen, Carreras ; Tchouameni, Bellingham, Güler ; Mastantuono, Mbappé, Vinicius
Key points
- Benfica have won only three of their last 25 European matches against Spanish clubs.
- Real have lost only to Manchester City and Liverpool this season in the CL.
- Benfica are on four straight home wins.
- Mbappé has already scored 11 goals in this group stage.
- Real can secure direct qualification with a win.
Football Prediction Benfica – Real Madrid
Real Madrid win + over 1.5 goals
Benfica have the history, not the form.
Up against a Real that’s building momentum and an unstoppable Mbappé, the Lisbon side may lack the quality to compete.
Expect Madrid to win in a match that produces at least two goals.
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