BENFICA v GALATASARAY
Europa League
Thursday 21st February 2019
Kickoff: 2000hrs
Pick: Benfica to win
Bookmaker: Marathonbet
Odds: 1.71 (odds taken at 13:38 GMT, 20 Feb 2019)
The second legs of the round of 16 in the Europa League are due to be played on Thursday night and next up is the clash between Benfica and Galatasaray as the betting tips continue at the Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica in Lisbon with the hosts looking to finish the job here.
Europa League Betting at Marathonbet
Benfica Prediction
Benfica qualified for the knockout stages of the Europa League courtesy of finishing in third place in Group E of the Champions League and they registered what could be an extremely vital 2-1 win away at their Turkish opponents, Galatasaray at the Türk Telekom Stadyumu in Istanbul in last week’s first leg.
Benfica appear to be in red-hot form right now as the Portuguese club have racked up six wins on the trot including a 10-0 humiliation of Nacional in the Primeira Liga where sit in second place and just one point behind league leaders, Porto.
The bigger picture shows us that Benfica have won nine of their last 10 matches in all competitions, and they look a very hard team to stop right now, with only Primeira Liga leaders, Porto managing to temporarily put a halt to their winning streak with a 3-1 win at their place, albeit in the domestic cup competition, the Taca de Portugal.
Benfica have lost just once in their last 10 ties in the Europa League which was on penalties away at Sevilla while at home, the hosts have lost just once in their last 20 which is some record at this level.
- Benfica have won their last 6 matches on the trot in all competitions
- Benfica have lost just 1 of their last 20 home matches in the Europa League
- Galatasaray have won just 1 of their last 6 away ties in the Europa League
Galatasaray Prediction
Galatasaray have it all to do in Lisbon on Thursday night when they look to overhaul a 2-1 deficit away to Benfica in order to progress through to the quarter-finals of the Europa League, but recent history on the road in this competition doesn’t make for particularly positive reading if you’re a Galatasaray fan.
The Turkish club responded to last week’s first leg defeat in Istanbul by bullying Kasimpasa 4-1 away from home in the domestic Super Lig, but results away from home in this competition have been rather ordinary; Galatasaray have managed just three wins from their last nine on their travels.
In addition, the visitors have lost their last two away matches in the Europa League which were back-to-back defeats at Lazio and Ostersunds, 3-1 and 2-0 respectively.
Betting Tips Verdict
Benfica have one foot in the quarter-finals having secured a vital 2-1 win in Istanbul, and the hosts should do enough to get over the line here on Thursday night too.
