AEK Athens vs Benfica Predictions

Can Benfica improve on their awful record in this competition last season? They lost every group game on their way to an early exit last season, which was a severe blow. They were unable to retain their league title, so they’re only here after just making it through qualifying. Meanwhile, AEK Athens are aiming to take their dominant league form and transport it across to Europe, given that they’re in one of the most open groups. With these two and Ajax fighting for second behind Bayern, every game is crucial.

AEK Athens did get a significant blow to their hopes of qualifying, as they lost out to Ajax in Amsterdam last time out. That 3-0 defeat has them firmly on the backfoot, with the Dutch side leading the way at this early stage. However, Ajax are making the trip to Munich this week, so these two sides have a chance to catch up. The Greek side are among the early contenders in the Super League, and they are aiming to combine a run to the last 16 with a domestic title defence, something the visitors failed to do last season.

Benfica certainly had a tough season last time out, and things were set to get worse for them during a summer trip to Greece. They faced PAOK, the side who were runners-up behind AEK last term. The Portuguese side were trailing 2-1 on aggregate during the second leg, and set to miss out on a huge payday by making the group stage. However, the Eagles regrouped and came back to win the second leg 4-1, which set up this week’s return to Greece.

Benfica will be looking to take the attacking edge they showed in the qualifiers and use it here. They will be confident against a defence which lost 3-0 at Ajax, while PAOK recently put two goals past AEK in a Super League clash. Benfica had scored in every Champions League game this season before their 2-0 defeat by Bayern. After racking up four goals in their last visit to Greece, they can expect some joy going forward in our opinion.

All of AEK’s four qualifiers this summer saw both teams score, while the hosts have now conceded in 10 straight matches in this competition. Benfica are looking stronger up front with Jonas on his way back from injury, and they should capitalise here. However, having conceded 18 times in their last eight matches in this competition outside of qualifiers, Benfica are questionable at the back. We’re going for both teams to score, and a 1-1 draw.