Not much value seemingly on offer in the Champions League on Wednesday but Lyon are worthy of support at home to Benfica.
The French side are consistent at the highest level of European club football and, despite a relatively slow start in Ligue 1, I think they’ve enough quality to see-off their Portuguese opponents. Lyon enjoyed a terrific run to last season’s semi-finals, before succumbing to Bayern Munich, and at odds against should be backed.
Lyon have started their latest assault on the continent’s biggest prize in the best possible fashion, beating Schalke on home soil 1-0 before triumphing impressively in Tel Aviv against Hapoel. This isn’t the strongest group by any means of the eight, but victory will almost assure Claude Puel and his team a place in the last 16 and I think they’ll get it.
Currently languishing in 14th position in the French top flight, Lyon have mounted something of a recovery in recent weeks with back-to-back successes over Nancy and Lille either side of the international break and still have an abundance of attacking flair to call upon.
Prolific Argentine striker Lisandro Lopez was on target twice in the win last time out at the Stade de Gerland and with the likes of Yoann Gourcuff and the excellent Brazilian Michel Bastos providing the spark I think they’ll create enough against a hit-and-miss Benfica side to cause them problems.
The Portuguese champions arrive in France without having drawn a match in their last 25 fixtures and that statistic highlight’s Jorge Jesus’ side’s inconsistency. Benfica have also lost three of their four away games so far this term and look there for the taking on their travels.
With both better on the front foot than trying to protect, this looks potentially one of the more entertaining clashes on Wednesday and the hosts can confirm their class which led them to wins last season over Fiorentina, Debrecen, Real Madrid and Bordeaux in front of their own fans last season in this competition.
2pts Back Lyon (vs. Benfica) @ 2.20 (Bet 365)