Group D of the Champions League reaches gameweek three as Benfica host Real Sociedad at 20:00 on Tuesday night.

The home side have lost their opening two matches in Europe this term while the Spanish outfit have picked up four points and currently lead Group D under the impressive Manol Alguacil. Below we’ve previewed the clash and picked out a couple of selections.

Team News

Angel Di Maria and Alexander Bah will both miss this match for Benfica, with their current injuries expected to keep them out until November. Fredrik Aursnes will likely stay at right-back to replace Bah, while João Mário could start on the left wing. 

Alvaro Odriozola and Kieran Tierney are both doubts for the in-form visitors, while Martin Merquelanz and Andre Silva have been ruled out. Andre Silva was expected to return, but suffered another muscle injury in the build-up to this one that will keep him out until the next international break. 

Match Odds

Benfica are the 11/10 favourites to win this match, while Real Sociedad are 9/4 to take the three points. The draw is 21/10, while BTTS Yes can be backed at 4/5.

Real Sociedad to win to nil @ 9/2

It feels like Real Sociedad have been wildly overpriced heading into this fixture, given what we have seen in the group so far. Alguacil’s side are one of the best in La Liga this term, and have only lost twice in all competitions. Both were 2-1 defeats away to the Madrid giants, and in both games they were well in contention to get at least a point, if not more. 

In the Champions League so far they should have beaten Inter Milan at home, as Lautaro Martinez rescued a point late on for the Italian giants before they went and wiped the floor with RB Leipzig in Germany. In both games they were the superior side, while their opponents Benfica have lost twice to the same opposition.

I’m hugely confident that Real Sociedad can win this game, but we can extend the odds further by picking the Spanish side to win to nil. They’ve kept four clean sheets in their last five matches in all competitions, and what is perhaps even more impressive is that they’ve only conceded two shots on target in the Champions League so far. They can follow it up with another impressive away win here to maintain top spot in the group. 

Benfica 0-2 Real Sociedad @ 14/1

Benfica, albeit down to ten men, were beaten 2-0 at home by RB Leipzig in their Champions League opener, and up against a stubborn Sociedad side, I can see a similar result here. We’ve already discussed how good Alguacil is at setting his team up defensively, while his side can dominate the ball and create multiple chances. 

Benfica have been in superb form domestically, up to second in the league having won seven of their eight matches so far. However, there is a gap in quality between La Liga and Liga Portugal, and I believe with the injuries to Di Maria and co, Sociedad can come out victorious. 14/1 on the 2-0 win seems extremely generous.