Benfica vs Napoli Prediction: Collapse at the start of the second half

Latest team news for Benfica vs Napoli

Benfica will still be without Alexander Bah (anterior cruciate ligament), Bruma (Achilles tendon), and Dodi Lukebakio (ankle) on Wednesday, but Mourinho will have a full complement of options available.

Gianluca Prestoni was sent off in the Lisbon derby, but he is still eligible to play in the Champions League as his suspension will take effect in the domestic league on Sunday.

Seeking his first Champions League goal since the opening matchday, Vangelis Pavlidis is almost certain to start. The Greek striker is leading the Primeira Liga top scorer list with 10 goals.

In Napoli's new 3-4-2-1 formation, David Neres — who scored 17 goals in 83 appearances for Benfica — will support Hojlund in attack.

With the squad heavily depleted by injuries, McTominay is certain to continue as a starter, having scored three goals in the last three Champions League matches.

Conte continues to be without a number of key players: Romelu Lukaku and Kevin De Bruyne are both injured, along with Billy Gilmour, Stanislav Lobotka, Frank Anguissa, Miguel Gutierrez, and goalkeeper Alex Meret.

Latest predicted lineups for Benfica vs Napoli

Benfica:

Trubin; Dedic, Otamendi, A. Silva, Dahl; Rios, Barrenechea; Aursnes, Barreiro, Sudakov; Pavlidis

Napoli:

Milinkovic-Savic; Beukema, Rrahmani, Buongiorno; Di Lorenzo, McTominay, Elmas, Spinazzola; Lang, Neres; Hojlund

Latest football match prediction: Benfica vs Napoli

After suffering three consecutive defeats without scoring a single goal, Mourinho finally secured his first Champions League victory with Benfica last month, when his team beat Ajax in Amsterdam.

Samuel Dahl and Leandro Barreiro scored at opposite ends of the match, rekindling hopes of reaching the knockout stage this season, but Benfica are still outside the play-off zone.

Currently in the relegation zone, Benfica may have to win all three of their remaining matches — and none of them will be easy.

Before facing Real Madrid at the end of next month, the "Eagles" will have to confront two Italian giants: Juventus and Napoli.

Notably, Napoli is managed by Conte — who once mocked Chelsea's "Mourinho season" after winning the Premier League in 2015. These two former Chelsea managers are reportedly not on good terms.

In their eight previous encounters, Mourinho has only won two and lost four, including the 2018 FA Cup final — the most recent meeting between the two.

The last time the Benfica manager won two consecutive Champions League matches was in that same year, so he was eager to secure all three points this time for a number of reasons.

Benfica warmed up for Wednesday's match with a tense Lisbon derby, drawing 1-1 with Sporting last weekend thanks to an equalizer from Heorhiy Sudakov.

This result leaves them three points behind champions Portugal and eight points behind league leaders Porto.

Now, having won only one of their last 12 home games in top-level UEFA competitions, Benfica enter this midweek match almost certainly needing a win.

In contrast to Benfica, the signs are quite positive for Napoli, who won the only previous encounter between the two sides in the 2016 Champions League group stage in Portugal. Overall, Napoli also leads 3-1 in head-to-head wins.

Conte's team entered this match with a four-point advantage over Benfica, and were in the play-off zone after five matches.

Napoli — a team that has never advanced beyond the Champions League quarter-finals — got off to a slow start. Before and after their victory against Sporting in Naples, they lost to Manchester City and were thrashed 6-2 by PSV Eindhoven.

Following a 0-0 draw against Eintracht Frankfurt, the Serie A champions secured a crucial victory last month when Scott McTominay scored the winning goal against Qarabag in the second half.

This was the second victory in a five-game winning streak across all competitions, which began after the team changed its formation due to a series of injuries.

Most recently, Napoli won the big match at Maradona Stadium, ending an unbeaten calendar year at home on Sunday evening.

That victory also helped them reclaim the top spot in Serie A, with Rasmus Hojlund scoring a brace against Juventus — a team now managed by former manager Spalletti.

Having just defeated his former team, Conte will now look to overcome his old rival Mourinho; however, it should be noted that before the trip to Lisbon, Napoli had lost their last four away matches in the Champions League and conceded 15 goals.

Latest Benfica vs Napoli score prediction

Based on the above football analysis, we and leading football websites worldwide have provided our predictions for the match.Benfica vs Napolias follows:

• Sportsmole:Benfica 0-2 Napoli

• WhoScore:Benfica 1-3 Napoli
• We predict:Benfica 1-2 Napoli

When and where can I watch Benfica vs Napoli live?

To watch the Benfica vs Napoli match live in the Champions League at 3:00 AM on December 11th, viewers can tune in to the following channels:K+ Sport,K+PMor online sports channels. We hope you enjoy watching football.