Benfica and Boca Juniors have been handed a tough draw at the Club World Cup as they are joined in Group C by Bayern Munich.
Minnows Auckland City complete the group and should fall at this first hurdle, so there is a good chance that Monday’s clash between Benfica and Boca could go a long way towards deciding which of these teams reaches the next round — assuming Bayern take one of those top two spots.
Team news
Benfica remain without long-term injury victims Alexander Bah and Manu Silva. The Lisbon club also no longer have striker Zeki Amdouni to call on after they opted against making his loan stay from Burnley a permanent move.
Boca’s star forward Edinson Cavani is expected to miss out due to a muscle injury, while full-back Luis Advincula is also rated as a doubt.
The stats
Benfica have won nine of their last 13 games, drawing four.
Bruno Lage's men have conceded in each of their last four games.
Boca Juniors have lost two of their last four games.
The Blue and Gold have scored in 10 of their last 13 fixtures.
Benfica have scored at least twice in 11 of their last 15 games.
Prediction
After being drawn in the proverbial ‘group of death’, both Benfica and Boca Juniors will view this opening fixture as a must-win game if they are to stand a realistic chance of reaching the knockout stages.
With Auckland City unlikely to take any points, a defeat in this opener would leave the losers facing the prospect of having to get a result against Bayern Munich.
Benrica have endured a frustrating season after losing out to Lisbon rivals Sporting in both the league and cup, losing the latter in extra time, but they do come into the Club World Cup in good form as they are unbeaten in normal time across 13 games.
The Portuguese big guns have a stronger squad on paper, while Argentine pair Nicolas Otamendi and Angel di Maria will be keen to make a big impression against their compatriots, and they should be able to grind out a win over an out-of-sorts Boca side.
the Blue and Gold are winless in their last four games and the expected absence of Cavani also looks a huge blow.
The Argentine heavyweights are in the midst of a tough period as Miguel Angel Russo signed on for a third spell in charge at the start of the month after Fernando Gago’s sacking at the end of April, whereas Benfica are a settled side who should be ready to go again after a fairly strong season domestically and in the Champions League.
Benfica can claim the win, but Boca can get on the scoresheet as the Eagles have gone four games without a clean sheet and the Xeneize have enough quality in attack to cause a few problems, even if Cavani is unavailable.