Analysis and prediction for Monaco vs Benfica: Sharp counter-attacks

Latest team news for Monaco vs Benfica

Entering the upcoming challenging match, Monaco is facing a series of squad difficulties as the list of first-team players expected to be absent continues to grow longer. The most notable absence is that of key midfielder Lamine Camara, who plays a crucial role in regulating the team's play and maintaining the tempo of the midfield. To replace Camara, coach Adi Hutter may give an opportunity to Soungoutou Magassa, a promising young talent. Interestingly, Magassa scored his first professional goal against Benfica, creating a special connection ahead of this crucial encounter.

In defense, Monaco also suffered significant losses. Center-back Christian Mawissa will be unavailable due to suspension after being sent off in the match against Inter Milan, leaving a large gap in the heart of the defense. The situation is further complicated by the uncertainty surrounding the availability of both full-backs Jordan Teze and Wilfried Singo due to various fitness issues. This presents a headache for coach Hutter in selecting personnel for the defense, and these forced changes could affect the solidity and stability of Monaco's defensive system.

In attack, the situation is also not very bright, as both young striker George Ilenikhena and main goalscorer Folarin Balogun are struggling with different injuries. The absence of both players will significantly reduce Monaco's attacking strength, and coach Hutter will have to find effective replacements to ensure the team's goal-scoring ability. In this context, Mika Biereth, a new signing who joined Monaco in the January transfer window, may have the opportunity to make his Champions League debut for the club. He made an immediate impact after arriving at Monaco and showed impressive goal-scoring ability, especially with a hat-trick against Auxerre, offering new hope for the Principality's attack.

On the other side of the pitch, Benfica is also facing squad concerns, though not as serious as Monaco's. Defender Alexander Bah and midfielder Manu Silva both had to leave the field in the first half of their home win against Moreirense last weekend, and their availability for the upcoming match remains a big question mark. Bah and Silva's injuries will affect Benfica's stability and strength on the flanks, and coach Roger Schmidt will have to make appropriate adjustments to ensure the team runs smoothly.

However, there is still some positive news for Benfica. The talented midfielder Angel Di Maria and striker Arthur Cabral have both recovered from injuries and will be available for this match. Although they missed the game against Moreirense due to minor issues, both players are crucial to Benfica's attacking play, and their return will give coach Schmidt more options in attack. Nevertheless, Arthur Cabral will face fierce competition from the in-form striker Vangelis Pavlidis for a starting spot. Pavlidis has shown impressive goal-scoring ability recently and is one of the most anticipated players in Benfica's attack.

A striking statistic shows Benfica have conceded 12 goals in their last five matches, highlighting serious defensive problems. Despite this, veteran center-back Nicolas Otamendi is still trying his best to ease the burden on the defense by contributing to goals on the other side. The Argentinian has scored in his last two consecutive games for Coach Lage's team, a remarkable achievement for a center-back, and demonstrating his crucial role in both attack and defense.

Latest predicted lineups for 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 match prediction: Monaco vs Benfica

Once a strong contender for a top-eight spot, Monaco suffered a disappointing slump, finishing the group stage in a dismal 17th place. This meant they missed out on a seeded spot in the upcoming challenging play-offs.

The turning point that caused Monaco to lose their advantage probably came from the heavy 0-3 defeat at San Siro against Inter Milan in the eighth matchday, dealing a severe blow to the fighting spirit of the Principality team. However, that wasn't the only match they regretted. In fact, it was the 2-3 defeat against Benfica that marked the beginning of a dark period, prolonging their freefall in the standings and pushing them into a more difficult situation than ever before.

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

Overall, 2025 has been a year of considerable instability for Monaco. Prior to this trip to Italy, they had to bitterly admit that they had suffered almost 10 heavy defeats, conceding 11 goals in just 4 matches.

Looking further ahead, with this evident decline, Monaco has been mercilessly destroyed on numerous occasions, evidenced by the fact that their defense continues to concede a tremendous number of goals after each match. A prime example is conceding 4 goals against Paris Saint-Germain. Witnessing their drop from the top 3 of Ligue 1, coupled with repeated humiliations within the league, has left them with a bitter taste of despair that seems impossible to alleviate.

The situation has truly changed for teams that had participated in previous seasons and missed out on that coveted spot, forcing them to start fighting from scratch. The best performances were against a familiar opponent – ​​generally speaking, against Portugal – and Monaco, who have now lost their advantage. They just concluded their own streak with a formidable defense, evidenced by numerous victories against the very opponent they easily won against in those two seasons where the visiting team, with their pride, earned points in the rematch at the beginning of the season!

Latest Monaco vs Benfica score prediction

Based on the above football analysis, we and leading football websites worldwide have provided our predictions for 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 can I watch Monaco vs Benfica live?

To watch the Monaco vs Benfica match in the Champions League live at 3:00 AM on February 13th, viewers can tune in to the following channels:K+ Sport,K+PMor online sports channels. We hope you enjoy watching football.