JUVENTUS were very recently the superpowers of Italy and perennial Champions League contenders, but they are on the brink of a humiliating exit on Tuesday as they face Benfica in Portugal.
The Old Lady have made a pig's ear of qualifying from their group after three defeats in four games to PSG, Benfica at home and Maccabi Haifa as they became the first Italian team to lose in Israel.
They tral PSG and Benfica by five points with two games left and only a win in Portugal would give them an outside chance of getting through. As it is, they face a real battle to even make the Europa League.
In Serie A, at the time of writing, they are floundering in eighth place although they did at least beat Torino in the Turin derby and cruised past Empoli in their last two games.
Benfica are going great guns this season, They are six points clear at the top of the Portuguese League and are unbeaten all season. They held PSG to draws home and away and won their opening 13 games of the season in all competitions.
How the bookies view it
It's something of a surprise to see Benfica odds against here with SBK at 42/41, with most places making them around 10/.11.
Juventus can be backed at 14/5 with UniBet and the draw is 13/5 with bet365.
Recent head to heads
Benfica went to Turin and returned with an impressive 2-1 victory last month.
And Juventus have never won in five meetings between the clubs with Benfica winning four of them.
Players to watch
Portuguese playmaker Rafa grabbed his seventh goal of an impressive season on Friday night with the only goal at rivals Porto to extend their lead at the top of the league. He is 3/1 to score on Tuesday with bet365.
On loan Everton striker Moise Kean broke his goalscoring duck with Juventus at the weekend with the opening goal of that win against Emploi. He is 9/2 with William Hill to double his tally in Portugal.
Anything else catch the eye?
It's impossible to oppose a flawless Benfica side here who have been in superb form and anything odds-against is a real bonus. Juventus' name appears to be the only thing that would stop a team like Benfica being chunky odds-on shots at home against mid-table opposition.
They don't do losing and the only game they have not won at home all season was against PSG at the Estadio da Luz.
With Juve having to go for the win, they could very well be picked off and it could be worth a stab at Benfica to win this convincingly. Try the -1 on the handicaps at an enticing 13/5 with Paddy Power.
And it could be worth looking at the booking odds when they come up given there were seven yellow cards in the match in Italy.
This UEFA Champions League match between Benfica and Juventus will be played on Oct 25, 2022 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Benfica vs Juventus prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
