Benfica’s poor German record gives Schalke added confidence
Published:Benfica’s terrible record on German soil will give Schalke plenty of hope that they can immediately bounce back into contention to qualify from Group B of the Champions League.
Schalke lost 1-0 away to Lyon in their opening game and are now 3/1 to finish at the head of Group B.
However, with Benfica having failed to win in their last 17 competitive games in Germany, they will be confident of collecting their first three points in the group.
Schalke are 5/4 to beat Benfica and they have a striker in a hot streak of form in Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, who has scored in the team’s last three Bundesliga games.
Huntelaar is 5/1 to score the first goal against Benfica, with the Portuguese outfit 11/5 to build on their victory over Hapoel Tel-Aviv in their opening Champions League game.
The Israeli outfit host Lyon in the other Group B clash, with the fixture representing their first ever home game in the competition.
Hapoel are 11/5 to beat Lyon and take a step towards improving upon their European adventure from last season when reaching the last 32 of the Europa League.
Lyon will be hoping for a victory to increase their chances of qualifying for the knockout rounds of the Champions League for the eighth straight season in what will be their first ever game against Israeli opposition.
They are 13/10 to beat Hapoel in what is sure to be a tight game.
Lyon reached the semi finals of the Champions League last season and are the 6/5 favourites to finish at the head of Group B this year. See the entire Group B winners betting odds market.
