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 keeping 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 the opponent Benfica, creating a special relationship ahead of this important encounter.

Monaco have also suffered significant losses in defence. Centre-back Christian Mawissa will miss out due to suspension after being sent off against Inter Milan, leaving a huge 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 selecting his defence, and any unplanned changes could affect the solidity and stability of Monaco's defence.

The situation in attack is not very bright either, 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 at Monaco and showed impressive goalscoring ability, especially with a hat-trick against Auxerre, giving new hope to the Principality team's attack.

Benfica are also facing 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 last weekend, and both players are now doubtful for the upcoming match. 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 appropriate 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 anticipated players in Benfica's attack.

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

Latest expected lineup 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 commentary on Monaco vs Benfica

Once a strong contender for a top eight finish, Monaco have suffered a disappointing 17th place in the group stage, meaning they have missed out on seeding for the 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 matchday eight, 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 against 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 the sad series of consecutive group stage exits, after what happened in the 2018-19 season.

Overall, 2025 is witnessing a Monaco team playing in an unstable manner. 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. Typical examples include: Conceding 4 goals against Paris Saint-Germain - Witnessing the team falling out of the top 3 of Ligue 1 while also constantly witnessing the team being humiliated there, making the sadness seem impossible to overcome.

It has really happened for the teams that have been present in previous seasons and have missed out on that bright ticket that they have to compete again from the beginning until now. With the developments that are considered the best against a familiar opponent - generally before all Portugal Monaco has now lost the right to be the opponent. The fact that they have just ended this streak of their own with a heroic defense that proves that they 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 live match Monaco vs Benfica in the Champion League taking place at 3:00 a.m. on February 13, viewers can watch onK+ Sport,K+PMor online sports channels. Wish you have fun watching football.