On Thursday evening, two in-form teams meet in Group D of the Europa League, as Benfica host Rangers at the Estadio da Luz.
Benfica have been enjoying a strong season both at home and abroad. They will feel a 3-0 defeat at Boavista last time out was just a small slip, as the loss ended a run of seven consecutive wins in all competitions.
🎥 #RangersFC manager Steven Gerrard draws a line under recent events as the Club move onto a huge game against Benfica on Thursday. pic.twitter.com/WdyLp5uWy5— Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC) November 3, 2020
🎥 #RangersFC manager Steven Gerrard draws a line under recent events as the Club move onto a huge game against Benfica on Thursday. pic.twitter.com/WdyLp5uWy5
The Eagles last defeat was in the third qualifying round of the Champions League, as they suffered a shock 2-1 defeat by PAOK. The Boavista game also haltered a prolific run of form in front of goal for the Portuguese side, who had also scored at least twice in those seven straight wins.
Benfica have certainly enjoyed a positive start to their Europa League campaign so far, winning both of their games, hammering Lech Poznan 4-2 before a comfortable 3-0 win over Standard Liege in their last outing in the competition.
Just one home defeat in 25 Europa League matches at the Estadio da Luz also shows how strong the Eagles are on home soil too.
Rangers seem to be gaining a head of steam under Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard. The Scottish side head to the Portuguese capital top of the SPL table, nine points clear of reigning champions and arch-rivals Celtic.
Their performances in Europe have not been bad of late either and the Gers are now 17 matches undefeated in all competitions, with their last defeat coming in the knockout stages of this competition last season when they lost 1-0 in Germany against Bayer Leverkusen.
Included in that 17-game undefeated run is a five-match winning streak in the Europa League, in which they have conceded just one goal. Last time out they recorded a 1-0 win over Lech Poznan.
Forebet predicts that Benfica will end Rangers long unbeaten record by recording a victory in a high-scoring encounter to take control of the group.