Benfica vs Feyenoord: Champions League Matchday 3 Preview and Predictions

Benfica is set to host Feyenoord in a crucial Matchday 3 encounter of the 2024/2025 UEFA Champions League on Wednesday, October 23. The match, scheduled to kick off at 3:00 PM ET, will be held at the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon, Portugal.

Benfica has been in impressive form, having secured a 100% record through their first two Champions League games. They started with a 2-1 win over Crvena Zvezda and followed it up with a dominant 4-0 victory against Atletico Madrid. This performance has highlighted Benfica’s strength under new manager Bruno Lage, who has quickly imprinted his principles on the team.

Feyenoord, on the other hand, has had a mixed start to their Champions League campaign. After a chastening 4-0 defeat to Bayer Leverkusen on Matchday 1, they rebounded with a 3-2 win over Girona on Matchday 2. Despite being unbeaten in the Eredivisie through eight games, Feyenoord is 11 points behind league leaders PSV Eindhoven and faces significant challenges due to injuries, including the absence of key players like Quilindschy Hartman, Calvin Stengs, and Santiago Gimenez.

For Benfica, Angel Di Maria is expected to start alongside Vangelis Pavlidis and Kerem Akturkoglu in the frontline. The team will likely be without Renato Sanches and Tiago Gouveia due to injuries. The predicted lineup for Benfica includes Trubin; Bah, Antonio Silva, Otamendi, Carreras; Aursnes, Luis, Kokcu; Di Maria, Pavlidis, Akturkoglu.

Feyenoord’s lineup is expected to feature Wellenreuther; Lotomba, Beelen, Hancko, Bueno; Milambo, Hwang, Timber; Osman, Ueda, Igor Paixao. Despite their injury woes, Feyenoord has shown resilience and will look to mitigate the absences of key players.

Fans can watch the match live on various platforms, including Paramount+ in the USA, DAZN in Canada and Germany, and other local broadcasters around the world.