Benfica take on Ajax on Wednesday in the first leg of their Champions League Round of 16.
After a dominant showing in the Champions League group stage — maximum points from six matches — Ajax are five points clear at the top of the Eredivisie and have won their last 10 games across all competitions.
Benfica squeaked by as Champions League Group E runner-up behind Bayern Munich, beating out Barcelona in the process.
But Benfica are a distant third place in Portugal’s Primeira Liga in domestic league play with their recent form having been rather inconsistent.
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How to watch Benfica vs Ajax in the USA
- Date: Wednesday, Feb. 23
- Time: 3p.m. ET
- TV Channel: Galavision
- Streaming: fuboTV, Paramount +
The match will be broadcast on Galavision (Spanish) in the USA with the channel streaming on fuboTV, which is available to new users on a free trial.
CBS streaming platform Paramount + will also carry the match in the USA.
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Benfica vs Ajax predicted lineups
Benfica are deprived of the services of Rodrigo Pinho, Haris Seferovic and Lucas Verissimo.
Benfica projected lineup: Vlachodimos — Lazaro, Otamendi, Vertonghen, Grimaldo — Silva, Taarabt, Weigl, Everton — Yaremchuk, Nunez
Ajax will be without Brian Brobbey and goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg.
Ajax projected lineup: Pasveer — Mazraoui, Schurrs, Martinez, Blind — Alvarez, Klaassen — Antony, Berghuis, Tadic — Haller
📸 Morning practice session at Benfica Campus!#EPluribusUnum #SLBAJA pic.twitter.com/LyaE5L7IVW
— SL Benfica (@slbenfica_en) February 22, 2022
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Benfica vs Ajax betting odds and lines
Odds courtesy of DraftKings
This could well be a closely-fought encounter, but given their impressive recent form, Ajax seem most likely to prevail in a goal-filled match.
With the likes of Dusan Tadic and Antony supplying Sebastien Haller, Ajax should be able to cause plenty of problems for the Benfica defense.
Benfica will still pose an attacking threat themselves, however, and they have scored in 18 of 20 home games so far this season. But containing an Ajax attack that has scored 70 goals in 23 Eredivisie matches will prove to be Benfica’s real challenge.
- Moneyline: Benfica + 370 / Draw + 310 / Ajax – 140
- Spread: Benfica +0.5 (+125) / Ajax -0.5 (-140)
- O/U 2.5 goals: Over -170 / Under +135
- Both teams to score: Yes -175 / No +135