Juventus vs Benfica Preview: Team News & Prediction | 2025-26 UEFA Champions League | League Phase
by Alex Lawes ·
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This is a huge game for Juventus in the hunt for the top eight and for Benfica in their hunt for the top 24 ahead of their clash at the Allianz Stadium in Turin this midweek.
Kick-off date/time:
How to watch on TV: UK – TNT Sports / US – Not televised
How to watch online: UK – discovery+ / US – Paramount+
Juventus preview: Spalletti’s Juve
Ever since the appointment of former Napoli and Italy manager Luciano Spalletti, Juventus have been much-improved and the Bianconeri are sitting just outside of the top eight in the UEFA Champions League with two games to go.
The Old Lady come into this one on the back of back-to-back victories in this competition but they then most recently succumbed to a slender 1-0 defeat to Cagliari at the Unipol Demus in Sardinia at the weekend in Serie A.
Benfica preview: Under pressure Jose
Jose Mourinho replaced Bruno Lage after Benfica began the league phase of the UEFA Champions League with a 3-2 loss at home to Qarabag and now the Lisbon giants are reportedly considering parting company with the legendary managerial figure.
That is because Benfica come into this one on the back of losing to FC Porto in O Classico in the quarter-finals of the Taca de Portugal last week, albeit they did recover to beat Rio Ave by two goals to nil away from home the other day.
Juventus team news: Nothing fresh
There are no fresh injury concerns or suspension issues for Juventus to deal with, with centre-back Daniele Rugani sidelined alongside striking duo Arkadiusz Milik and Dusan Vlahovic.
Predicted XI (3-4-3): Di Gregorio; Kalulu, Bremer, Kelly; McKennie, Locatelli, Koopmeiners, Cambiaso; Yildiz, David, Conceicao
Unavailable: Rugani (Injured), Milik (Injured), Vlahovic (Injured)
Questionable:
Benfica team news: A few injuries
New signing Sidny Lopes Cabral is unavailable to play for Benfica, while the visitors deal with other injury issues, such as Alexander Bah, Henrique Araujo and Joao Veloso.
Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Trubin; Dedic, T. Araujo, Otamendi, Dahl; Aursnes, Barreiro; Prestianni, Sudakov, Schjelderup; Pavlidis
Unavailable: Bah (Injured), Cabral (Ineligible), H. Araujo (Injured), Soares (Injured), Veloso (Injured), Lukebakio (Injured)
Questionable:
Juventus vs Benfica prediction
Benfica lost their opening four matches in this competition but they have given themselves a chance to squeeze into the top 24 with victories against Ajax and then Napoli. They will believe they can be awkward to play against for a Juventus side that have improved but have remained a side that lack the fluency of an archetypal Spalletti team. Given the hosts’ fallibilities in that regard, as well as Benfica’s likely intention, a low-scoring encounter appears likely for this one in Piedmont.
Juventus vs Benfica Tip: Under 2.5 goals
