Real Madrid and Benfica go head-to-head in a pivotal UEFA Champions League play-off second leg at the Santiago Bernabéu on Wednesday, with a place in the last 16 on the line.
Alvaro Arbeloa’s men have a slight advantage of one goal going into this encounter and will look to hold onto that lead and progress to the next round.
Real Madrid vs Benfica – Match preview and team news
- Date: Wednesday, 25th February.
- Kick-off: 8pm BST.
- Venue: Estadio Bernabeu, Madrid.
Real Madrid team news
Real Madrid has several key players missing for this clash. Midfielder Jude Bellingham is out with a thigh/hamstring problem.
Rodrygo will also play no part, as he is serving a two-match UEFA ban after being sent off for dissent in the 4-2 loss to Benfica in the league phase.
At the back, Real remain short of options, with centre-back Eder Militao still recovering from a long-term hamstring injury. Dani Ceballos is also ruled out in midfield, and Dean Huijsen is a doubt after missing the recent game against Osasuna.
Adding to their problems, Kylian Mbappe is now expected to miss the match with a knee injury. He failed to finish training yesterday and has since been confirmed as unavailable.
Benfica team news
Benfica travel to Madrid without young winger Gianluca Prestianni, who has been handed a one‑match suspension by UEFA and will miss the second leg. He is under investigation following allegations of racist behaviour towards Vinícius Júnior in the first leg; while Benfica and the player deny wrongdoing, UEFA has imposed a provisional ban.
Midfielder Joao Veloso is also sidelined with a shoulder injury. Colombian midfielder Richard Rios is in contention to start after impressing domestically since his arrival, adding energy and ball‑winning to Benfica’s spine.
Form
Real Madrid
Real Madrid come into the second leg after a demanding run, juggling a tight La Liga title race with the play-off against Benfica. They recently lost against Osasuna in a La Liga encounter. which helped Barcelona overtake them as the league leaders. Now, they will look to bounce back from that defeat and showcase a strong home performance against the Portuguese side.
Benfica
After losing to Real Madrid in the first leg of the playoffs, Benfica bounced back in their domestic league by winning comfortably against AVS Cute old SAD (3-0).
They have only lost once in their last seven matches across all competitions with their only setback being the loss against Real Madrid last week.
Predicted lineups
Real Madrid: Courtois; Alexander-Arnold, Asencio, Rudiger, Carreras; Valverde, Guler, Tchouameni, Camavinga; Garcia, Vinicius
Benfica: Trubin; Dedic, Araujo, Otamendi, Dahl; Rios, Aursnes; Lukebakio, Rafa, Schjelderup; Pavlidis
How to watch Real Madrid vs Benfica?
In the UK, Real Madrid vs Benfica is being shown live on TNT Sports 1.
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