Four teams remain without a point through two rounds of Champions League action, and Benfica finds itself surprisingly among them. Will it be the third time’s a charm for the Portuguese giant in Tuesday’s match-up against Real Sociedad?
You need goals to win games and Benfica has yet to score in Europe this season. Can the team open its account on Tuesday night? Bookmaker 10bet offers odds at 2.15 for the hosts to score two-plus goals, while the odds are at 2.90 for Sociedad to net at least two goals.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: October 23rd, 9:00 A.M. (EST)
Benfica’s European campaign started with a 2-0 shock defeat at home against Salzburg, and the team also couldn’t match Inter Milan at San Siro three weeks ago, losing 1-0. Things have gotten off to a very disappointing start in the Champions League despite the Eagles’ great overall form. Roger Schmidt has seen his side failing to win just once in eight league outings.
Schmidt’s team is without a goal in Europe but has netted 17 times in the Portuguese top flight. Angel Di Maria has been in the best goal-scoring form of his life, finding the back of the net five times in six games. The veteran star has also recorded one assist, averaging a goal involvement every 82.8 minutes. Schmidt will need to squeeze some of this form out of him in Europe as well.
Sociedad has four points on the board in Group D, having beaten Salzburg 2-0 on the road and drawing 1-1 at home with Inter. The Basque side is back in the Champions League for the first time since 2013-14 and looks like there are no plans to settle for only group games. The strong start has certainly given Sociedad a good chance to qualify for the knockout stages.
Imanol Alguacil’s team is also performing well in the league. Sociedad has lost only to the two Madrid giants and sits fifth in the La Liga table with 18 points from 10 games. The team is looking very threatening going forward and already has four players with at least three goal involvements.
Takefusa Kubo tops the Sociedad scoring charts, having bagged five goals and two assists in nine league appearances. The young Japanese star had a breakthrough campaign in 2022-23 with a career-high nine goals across all competitions and already appears ready to take another leap this season.
