We are only one round of fixtures away from knowing the teams who will compete in the group stage of the 2022/23 Champions League. On Tuesday the 23rd of August we have a meeting between SL Benfica and Dynamo Kyiv at the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon.
The hosts have a 2-0 lead to defend from the first leg, giving them the advantage going into the match.
📸💪 #SLBDynamo #UCL pic.twitter.com/yM1qpHjQLP— SL Benfica (@SLBenfica) August 22, 2022
📸💪 #SLBDynamo #UCL pic.twitter.com/yM1qpHjQLP
SL Benfica come into the game having not played in the Portuguese Primeira Division on the weekend. That means, their most recent fixture was the 2-0 win in Poland over Dynamo Kyiv in this Champions League playoff.
SL Benfica opened the scoring after only 9 minutes and doubled their advantage with 8 minutes remaining of the first half. There were no further goals at the Venue Stadion Miejski LKS Lodz.
That result means SL Benfica have won all 5 of their competitive fixtures this season. Three of those 5 games have come in the Champions League. SL Benfica entered the competition in the third qualifying round and beat FC Midtjylland 7-2 on aggregate, including a 4-1 home victory in the first leg.
Trends show SL Benfica are undefeated in 8 of their last 10 home Champions League games. They have scored 2 or more goals in 8 of those 10 matches and both teams have scored in each of SL Benfica’s last 3 home Champions League games.
Dynamo Kyiv travel to the Estádio da Luz having previously played in the first leg of this tie. The Ukraine Premier League has yet to start this season but Dynamo Kyiv have been busy in the Champions League.
They started their campaign in the second qualifying round against Fenerbahçe of Turkey and scored the winning goal in extra time of the second leg away from home to progress to the third qualifying round.
Dynamo Kyiv met Sturm Graz in the third qualifying round and again needed extra time in the second leg to progress. With the tie level at 1-1, Dynamo Kyiv scored 2 goals in extra time to win the game and progress 3-1 on aggregate.
Away form in the Champions League shows Dynamo Kyiv have won only 2 of their last 8 fixtures, with both wins coming in extra time this season. They have failed to keep a clean sheet in each of their last 13 away Champions League games.
Team news and SL Benfica are expected to be without injured defender Lucas Verissimo. However, the experienced Nicolas Otamendi is available despite serving a domestic suspension.
Dynamo Kyiv travel without the injured duo of Volodymyr Kostevych and Vladyslav Supryaga. Denys Garmash and Sergiy Sydorchuk will both return to the team following suspension.
SL Benfica are in the driving seat and have a good recent home record in the Champions League.
The Portuguese should have what it takes to win this game by at least the same score as the first leg and progress to the group stage.