Fenerbahce vs Benfica Predictions

• Benfica are yet to concede this season in four games
• Benfica have reached the group stages of the Champions League in 14 of the last 15 seasons
• The Eagles are unbeaten in seven meetings with Turkish teams

Eagles should be too strong

Benfica have qualified for the group stages of the Champions League in 14 of the last 15 seasons and they are fancied to take a big step closer to making it 15 from 16 when they visit Fenerbahce in the first leg of this play-off.

The Eagles secured a dominant 4-0 aggregate win over Nice in the last round of qualifying and the visitors should be too strong for Jose Mourinho’s men.

Bruno Lage’s side have had a solid start to the campaign, beating Sporting in the Super Cup before securing an away win against Estrela in their first league match at the weekend.

The Eagles also reached the knockout stage of the last Champions League and the recent Club World Cup so have plenty of pedigree on the international stage.

They should be able to get the better of a Fenerbahce side who were held to a 0-0 draw against Goztepe at the weekend despite their opponents being down to nine men for the game’s last 25 minutes.

Fenerbahce have not featured in the Champions League proper since 2009 and their inexperience could prove the difference between these two teams, Benfica are taken to secure a first-leg lead to take back to Portugal.

Benfica’s strength is in their defending, they have four clean sheets in four games this term, and a 1-0 win for the away side is the correct score selection.