The Champions League returns tonight and, after Bayern Munich’s brilliant success at Wembley in May, 32 clubs are once again dreaming of emulating the Bundesliga side in 2014.
Bayern begin the defence of their crown against CSKA Moscow in Bavaria and should advance with ease to the knockout phase from a group that also contains Plzen and Manchester City.
In Group C Paris Saint-Germain will expect to dominate and the likelihood is Benfica will progress along with the Ligue 1 billionaires.
However, Anderlecht and Olympiakos will be hopeful of upsetting their more illustrious opponents and it is the Belgians that head to Estadio da Luz on Tuesday, venue of next year’s final.
Anderlecht have been crowned domestic champions in three of the last four seasons and, while previously cutting very little ice in the Champions League, there were signs 12 months ago of improvement against Europe’s best.
A 1-0 home victory over Zenit came before a final day point in Malaga, when sharing four goals with the Spaniards, and Belgian football is thriving at present.
Admittedly many of the stars of the Belgium national side are excelling abroad, predominantly in the English Premier League, but the strength in depth is significant and Anderlecht might not be the pushovers of season’s past.
What John van den Brom’s side should bring to this year’s competition is goals and the best bet on Tuesday is for both sides to find the net at odds against.
Anderlecht have already dropped six points after two defeats in their opening seven Pro League matches but they have struck an astonishing 26 times domestically, averaging nearly four goals per game, and can cause their upcoming hosts problems too.
The attacking trio of Matias Suarez, Massimo Bruno and Aleksandar Mitrovic all started in the 5-0 win over Mechelen on Sunday and Anderlecht have scored 10 times in just three away fixtures so far this term.
They face a Benfica side on Tuesday that were massively disappointing in the Champions League twelve months ago, failing to navigate the group stage, but they remain a talented bunch and a last 16 place is well within their grasp.
Benfica remain particularly formidable at home and it is now 65 matches, dating back to early 2009, since they failed to score in front of their own fans in the Primeira Liga.
Remarkably, Benfica lost just once last term but it was still not enough to secure the title as Porto remained undefeated to clinch a seventh title in eight years.
The pair are to be feared in Europe again this time around and it is only the recent Champions League winning pair of Chelsea and Barcelona that have stopped Benfica scoring on hoem soil in their last 15 fixtures in this competition.
While both sides are prolific in the attacking third, neither has a watertight defence and it is now eight top flight matches since Benfica kept a clean sheet.
Home goalkeeper Artur Moraes has conceded once in each Primeira Liga match so far this term under manager Jorge Jesus and, for all the threat of the likes of Brazilian Lima and Oscar Cardozo up front, Benfica cannot be trusted at the back.
We are unlikely to see a repeat score line of Anderlcht’s 4-3 defeat at Zulte-Waregem a fortnight ago but it should be an entertaining clash and I’ll be tuning in.
3pts Back Both Teams To Score (Benfica vs. Anderlecht) @ 21/20 (Ladbrokes)