Bayern Munich will have to be wary of slipping over the Benfica banana skin on Wednesday, with Pep Guardiola's side carrying a slender one-goal advantage into the second leg of their Champions League quarterfinal at Lisbon's Estádio da Luz. The Bavarian side would doubtless have been expecting a big win after they raced into the lead after just a couple of minutes in the reverse fixture, but Benfica turned in an impressive defensive performance to only lose by one at the Allianz Arena.
Bayern Munich vs. Benfica 2016: Start time, TV schedule and team news for Champions League
Benfica will have to overturn a one-goal deficit if they’re to beat Bayern Munich and progress to the Champions League semifinals.
That means the Portuguese outfit still have an outside chance of pulling off one of the biggest shocks of the tournament so far, and eliminate one of the major favourites. They’ll take heart from the disastrous performance Bayern put in on their last visit to Portugal, when Porto recorded a 3-1 win against the odds at this stage of last year’s Champions League (only to be beaten 6-1 in the second leg). Benfica also head in having failed to win only twice in all competitions since the turn of the year: They could hardly be in better form.
Key player: Renato Sanches (Benfica)
Benfica will be hoping Renato Sanches continues to deliver performances way beyond his 18 years, with the young Portuguese international set to start in the centre of midfield on Wednesday. He’s been attracting the attention of some of Europe’s biggest clubs with a series of all-action displays in a breakthrough season, and he’ll have to be at his very best to give Benfica a chance.
Key matchup: Douglas Costa vs. Eliseu
Guardiola’s Bayern are often heavily reliant on wing play, which perhaps isn’t surprising when you consider their abundance of talented wide men. Most impressive this season has certainly been Brazilian international Douglas Costa, whose performances on the right have served to justify the money they spent to prize him from Shakhtar Donetsk in the summer. Suffice to say, Benfica left-back Eliseu won’t be relishing the prospect of facing him.
Benfica injuries and suspensions
Out: Júlio César (adductor); Nuno Santos (knee); Jonas (suspended). In doubt: Nicolás Gaitán (unspecified muscular problem).
Bayern Munich injuries and suspensions
Out: Jérôme Boateng (groin); Holger Badstuber (ankle). In doubt: Arjen Robben (adductor); Medhi Benatia (thigh).
Benfica will be without goalkeeper Júlio César and young winger Nuno Santos through injury, while prolific striker Jonas will be sorely missed with a suspension. However, they’ll hope to have Argentine attacker Gaitán back after a muscular injury.
Bayern will still be without defenders Boateng and Bastuber, but there’s hope winger Robben and centre-back Benatia could recover from their respective injuries to make Guardiola’s squad.
Match date/time: Wednesday, 2:45 p.m. ET, 7:45 p.m. local
Venue: Estádio da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal
TV: FOX regional networks (U.S. - English); FOX Deportes (U.S. - Spanish); beIN Sports, TSN (Canada); BT Sport 2 (U.K.)
Online: FOX Sports GO, FOX Soccer 2Go (U.S.); beIN Sports Connect, TSN live streaming (Canada); BT Sport live streaming (U.K.)
See More:
