Comments and predictions for Monaco vs Benfica: Sharp counterattacks

Latest Monaco vs Benfica team information

Going into the upcoming challenging match, Monaco are facing a series of difficulties in terms of force as the list of first-team players expected to be absent is getting longer. Among them, the most notable absence is the main midfielder Lamine Camara, who plays an extremely important role in regulating the play and maintaining the rhythm of the Principality team's midfield. To replace Camara, coach Adi Hutter may give the opportunity to Soungoutou Magassa, a promising young talent. Interestingly, Magassa scored his first professional goal in his career against Benfica, creating a special relationship ahead of this important encounter.

Monaco have also suffered some serious injuries in defence. Centre-back Christian Mawissa will miss out due to suspension after being sent off against Inter Milan, leaving a gaping hole in the heart of the defence. To make matters worse, full-backs Jordan Teze and Wilfried Singo are both doubtful due to various fitness issues. This has given Hutter a headache in his selection of defenders, and any unplanned changes could have a negative impact on the solidity and stability of Monaco's defence.

The situation in attack is also not very bright, with both young striker George Ilenikhena and main striker Folarin Balogun struggling with various injuries. The absence of both players will significantly reduce Monaco's attacking power, and coach Hutter will have to find effective alternatives to ensure the team's ability to score goals. In that context, Mika Biereth, who just joined Monaco in the January transfer window, may have the opportunity to make his Champions League debut for the club. The player made an immediate impact upon his arrival and showed impressive goalscoring ability, especially with a hat-trick against Auxerre, bringing new hope to the Principality team's attack.

Benfica also have concerns, although not as serious as Monaco. Defender Alexander Bah and midfielder Manu Silva were both taken off in the first half of their home win over Moreirense at the weekend, and both are doubtful for the upcoming game. The injuries to Bah and Silva will affect Benfica's stability and strength on the flanks, and manager Roger Schmidt will have to make the right adjustments to ensure the team runs smoothly.

There is some positive news for Benfica, however. Talented midfielder Angel Di Maria and striker Arthur Cabral have both recovered from injury and will be in the squad for this match. Although they missed the match against Moreirense with minor issues, both players are crucial to Benfica's attacking play, and their return will give coach Schmidt more options up front. However, Arthur Cabral will have to compete fiercely with in-form striker Vangelis Pavlidis for a starting spot. Pavlidis has shown impressive goalscoring ability in recent times, and he is one of the most sought-after players in Benfica's attack.

A remarkable statistic shows that Benfica have conceded 12 goals in just their last five games, highlighting serious problems at the back. However, veteran centre-back Nicolas Otamendi is doing his best to ease the burden on the defence by contributing to goals at the other end. The Argentine has scored in his last two games for Lage’s side, a remarkable return for a centre-back, and shows how important he is in both attack and defence.

Latest expected lineup Monaco vs Benfica

Monaco:

Majecki; Vanderson, Kehrer, Salisu, Caio Henrique; Zakaria, Magassa; Akliouche, Golovin, Ben Seghir; Biereth

Benfica:

Trubin; Tomas Araujo, Antonio Silva, Otamendi, Fernandez; Florentino Luis, Aursnes, Kokcu; Di Maria, Pavlidis, Schjelderup

Latest football commentary Monaco vs Benfica

Once a strong contender for a top-eight finish, Monaco have suffered a disappointing decline and could only finish the group stage in a disappointing 17th place, meaning they have missed out on seeding for the upcoming tough play-offs.

The turning point that caused Monaco to lose their advantage was probably the heavy 0-3 defeat at San Siro against Inter Milan in the eighth matchday, which dealt a heavy blow to the fighting spirit of the Principality team. However, that was not the only match that they regretted. In fact, it was the 2-3 defeat to Benfica that started the dark days, extending their unstoppable slide down the rankings and putting them in a more difficult situation than ever.

Still, qualifying for the knockout stage can be considered a success for Monaco. They have achieved their goal of being in the top 24 and participating in a real final before the knockout stage officially begins. More importantly, this achievement has ended a series of consecutive disappointing group stage exits, following what happened in the 2018-19 season.

Overall, 2025 is witnessing a Monaco team playing very unstable. Before this trip to Italy, they had to bitterly admit that they had to go through a series of 10 heavy losses, conceding 11 goals in just 4 matches.

Looking further ahead. With this obvious decline, Monaco has been mercilessly destroyed many times, as evidenced by the fact that after each match their defense continues to concede a terrible number of goals. Typically: Conceding 4 goals against Paris Saint-Germain - Witnessing the team falling out of the top 3 of Ligue 1 while also continuously witnessing the team being humiliated there, making the sadness seem impossible to overcome.

It really happened to the teams that had participated in previous seasons and lost that bright ticket that they had to compete again from the beginning until now. With the developments considered the best against a familiar opponent - generally before all Portugal Monaco now lost the right to be the opponent. The fact that they just ended this streak of their own with a heroic defense that proved to have scored countless certain achievements against the opponent that they easily found every way when in those two seasons the away team was inherently proud to have points during the rematch at the beginning of the season!

Latest Monaco vs Benfica score prediction

Based on the above football comments, we and the world's leading football sites have given the results of the match.Monaco vs Benficaas follows:

• Sportsmole:Monaco 2-2 Benfica

• WhoScore:Monaco 1-1 Benfica
• Our newspaper predicts:Monaco 1-1 Benfica

When and where to watch Monaco vs Benfica live?

To watch the Monaco vs Benfica match live in the Champion League taking place at 3:00 a.m. on February 13, viewers can watch it onK+ Sport,K+PMor online sports channels. Wish you have fun watching football.