Dynamo Kyiv v Benfica Lisbon Betting Tips [17 August 2022]
Football - Champions League
17 August 2022 15:00
The match
The UEFA Champions League qualification continues in midweek with the playoff when Benfica take on Dynamo Kiev at the Stadion LKS in Lodz, Poland. Dynamo Kiev have done fantastically to reach this stage of the competition with all of the adversaries in their way. The conflict with Russia has decimated the Ukrainian footballing infrastructure, resulting in a mass exodus of foreign talent as well as teams being unable to compete in their domestic league seasons. In spite of all of this, Dynamo Kiev will look to advance to the group stages of the Champions League over one of the giants of Portuguese football in Benfica. The Ukrainian side triumphed over Austrian Bundesliga runners-up Sturm Graz in the last round, winning both legs to advance with an aggregate score of 3-1. For Benfica, they will look to keep their perfect winning start to the season going after advancing with a dominant 7-2 aggregate victory over FC Midtjylland.
Dynamo Kiev will likely field the same 11 that defeated Sturm Graz as there is no need for squad rotation for the Ukrainians with no league season at the moment. The starting 11 consisted of 10 Ukrainian players as the ____ time league champions look to adapt to the lack of foreign players. On the other side, Benfica has been flying high under new manager Roger Schmidt. The German has quickly implemented his effective high-pressing, quick transitional style of play and has seen immediate results with Benfica winning all four of their opening four competitive matches by a combined score of 12-2. We likely won’t see too much rotation from Schmidt in this match, as although coming off only four days rest from their 1-0 victory over Casa Pia, Benfica will have a full week of rest upon the conclusion of this match.
Key Statistics
- Including pre-season friendly matches, Benfica has now won nine consecutive matches since the appointment of Roger Schmidt.
- During their nine match winning run, Benfica has scored 29 goals while only conceding seven for an average of 3.2 goals scored per match and 0.78 allowed.
- These two sides actually faced off last season, resulting in a 0-0 first leg followed by a 2-0 win for Benfica in Lisbon.
The bet of our experts
We’re going to back Benfica to get the win in this Champions League playoff first leg. Dynamo Kiev have performed admirably up to this point but the Portuguese outfit will likely prove too much for the Ukrainians to handle. Benfica has been rolling under their new manager and look a real threat to challenge for the league title as well as possibly spring a surprise in the Champions League proper. Back the Eagles to get the job done here in a match that likely finished 1-0 or 2-0.
