Benfica vs Maccabi Haifa Match Analysis and Prediction

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Having pushed Liverpool all of the way at last season’s quarter-final stage, Benfica will play host to Maccabi Haifa in the Champions League group stage on Tuesday.

Benfica finished third in last season’s Portuguese Primeira Liga, and they look like they mean business this time around, having won all five of their opening league matches.

The Eagles showed immense character to secure a 2-1 victory againts Vizela on Friday, with Joao Mario’s 101st-minute penalty capping a dramatic finale in which Roger Schmidt’s side were shown two red cards during injury-time.

Schmidt guided his side past FC Midtjylland and Dynamo Kyiv in the qualifying rounds to ensure they reached the group stage, giving themselves a chance of pulling off another fine showing following their surprise run to the quarter-finals last time out.

With PSG and Juventus drawn alongside them in Group H, there is significant pressure on Benfica to take a maximum six points from their two encounters against their forthcoming opponents if they are to have a realistic chance of reaching the knockout stages once again.

Meanwhile, this will only be the third time Maccabi Haifa have competed in the Champions League group stage, having impressively defeated Olympiakos, Apollon Limassol and Red Star Belgrade to make it. They qualified for the group stage for the first time since 2009-10.

In a group containing Bordeaux, Juventus and Bayern Munich, the Israeli champions failed to collect a single point last time they competed at this stage of Europe’s elite competition, losing five of their six matches by the same scoreline of 1-0.

Head coach Barak Bakhar, who managed Hapoel Be’er Sheva to great success between 2015 and 2020, will have hope that his side can repeat that type of competitiveness 13 years later, although this time at least a positive result or two to show for it.

Benfica vs Maccabi Haifa head to head

The two teams have not previously met on any occasion and this will be their first meeting in the Champions League group stages.

Benfica latest home form

Benfica have recently been on a good run of form at home, and they have won each of their nine most recent matches. They managed to defeat Vizela 2-1 in their last home game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored 16 goals and conceded just four.

Benfica 4-1 Midtjylland 02/08/22

Benfica 4-0 Arouca 05/08/22

Benfica 3-0 Dinamo Kiev 23/08/22

Benfica 3-2 Pacos Ferreira 30/08/22

Benfica 2-1 Vizela 02/09/22

Benfica latest away form

Benfica have recently been on a good run of form on the road, having been unbeaten in their nine most recent matches. They managed to defeat Boavista 3-0 in their last away game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored11 goals and conceded just one.

Reading 0-2 Benfica 09/07/22

Midtjylland 1-3 Benfica 09/08/22

Casa Pia 0-1 Benfica 13/08/22

Dinamo Kiev 0-2 Benfica 17/08/22

Boavista 0-3 Benfica 27/08/22

Maccani Haifa latest home form

Maccabi Haifa have recently been on a good run of form at home, having been unbeaten in their four most recent matches. They managed to defeat Maccabi Netanya 4-1 in their last home game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored 13 goals and conceded five.

Maccabi Haifa 1-1(P) Hapoel Be’er Sheva16/07/22

Maccabi Haifa 1-1 Olympiakos 20/07/22

Maccabi Haifa 4-0 Apollon 03/08/22

Maccabi Haifa 3-2 Red Star Belgrade 17/08/22

Maccabi Haifa 4-1 Maccabi Netanya 27/08/22

Maccabi Haifa latest away form

Maccabi haifa have recently been on a good run of form on the road, having lost just one of their five most recent matches. They defeated Hapoel Be’er Sheva 2-1 in their last away game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored nine goals and conceded five.

Olympiakos 0-4 Maccabi Haifa 27/07/22

Apollon 2-0 Maccabi Haifa 09/08/22

Red Star Belgrade 2-2 Maccabi Haifa 23/08/22

Bnei Sakhnin 0-1 Maccabi Haifa 30/08/22

Hapoel Be’er Sheva 1-2 Maccabi Haifa 03/09/22

Benfica news

Benfica will have to make do without the services of Lucas Verissimo and Joao Victor due to knee and muscle injuries respectively, leaving them a little light at centre-back.

However, John Brooks could be handed his debut for the club having joined on free transfer from Wolfsburn on transfer deadline day.

Maccabi Haifa news

Maccabi Haifa will make the trip to Portugal without Mahmoud Jaber and Raz Meir due to leg and hip injuries respectively.

Bakhar could name a similar side which earned an impressive away win to Hapoel Be’er Sheva, meaning Pierrot may be reduced to making an impact from the bench once again.

Prediction and Odds

Benfica have kicked off the season in fine form, and we think this could be a demanding return to the Champions League group stage for Maccabi Haifa as a result.

The hosts will know they may require two wins against their visitors if they are to vie for the top two spots in Group H.

Odds: 1 1.88 X 2.00 2 2.21