Benfica will find out Champions League opponents tomorrow

Benfica came off a big victory in Italy over Juventus yesterday to earn a spot in the Champions League playoff on the last day of this revamped competition. There next opponents will be learned on the 31st of January.

Benfica ended up finishing 16th in the 36 team league and will find out tomorrow who their opponents are in the next round of games which will be a home and home encounter all the way until the one game final.

Benfica will be drawn against French clubs Monaco or Brest tomorrow with the winner of the two leg set moving on to face either Liverpool or Barcelona in the round of 16.

Benfica will earn €1M for making the playoff round to add on top of the €9.1M that they earned over the eight league games and the €18.6M for qualifying for the league phase. While €11M await the club if they are to advance to round of 16.

 

Benfica to test Genk resolve on leading scorer

Benfica have started to look around with the hopes of adding another striker to replace Arthur Cabral who is looking likely to join M.L.S. club Atlanta United. The American side have been aggressive in their pursuit of the Brazilian striker and now are rumoured to be ready to go as high as $18M for his services.

Reports coming from Africa state that Benfica have turned their attention to the Belgian Pro League's leading scorer, Tolu Arokodare. The Genk striker has scored fourteen goals in league play while providing six helpers in 23 games of action while chipping in another two goals and an assist in Belgian Cup play. 

The Nigerian striker has been with Genk since joining from French side Amiens in the winter of 2023 for €5M and is in the middle of his best season as a pro player. Genk are said to be hesitant to move on from the 24 year old who has been a key member of their first place squad.

Benfica are hoping to test the resolve of the Belgian club and are said to have made an initial offer of €10M for Tolu's services, but Genk is said to be looking for close to double that amount if they are to move on from their current starting striker.

With the transfer window set to close for most leagues next week, look for Benfica to press forward for a striker if they are to lose Cabral.

 

Benfica hanging onto Playoff spot in Champions League

Benfica head into Turin to play their final league game of their Champions League campaign needing at minimum at least one point in their encounter with Juventus if they are to reach the knockout rounds of the competition.

Benfica are coming off a shocking defeat to city rivals Casa Pia in the Portuguese League over the weekend and the heat is on manager Bruno Lage to turn around the club's fortunes around and remain alive to play another day.

A Benfica win or draw will move them into the knockout round and if the club suffers a loss, it does not necessarily knock them out, but they will need to have other results go their way if they are to continue moving forward.

Benfica rivals Sporting are also just hanging on and will face Bologna at home needing a win or draw to remain in the competition. In a worse case scenario for Portugal, both clubs could be out of the competition once 10pm WEST comes around tomorrow night. Now that would be a disaster.