Benfica v Monaco: Back Pavlidis to strike | OneFootball

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Vangelis Pavlidis could deliver a knockout blow to Monaco

One man stands apart as the greatest threat to Monaco's slender hopes of going any further in the Champions League, says Tobias Gourlay

Benfica v MonacoTuesday 20:00 (Live on Discovery+)

In Portugal last night, Famalicao surprised Gil Vicente 2-0 and left us empty handed from our BTTS bet.

We're staying in Portugal today for the second leg of the Champions League playoff between Benfica and Monaco. The Portuguese outfit lead the tie 1-0 after the first leg in France, and are favourites to go forward to the round of 16.

There are clear reasons to believe the Portuguese will prevail: they're on a winning streak of five across the Primeira Liga and this competition, while Monaco have lost on four of their last five appearances in this competition. Benfica also won a group-stage meeting in Monaco 3-2, then beat the principality outfit again in the first leg of this tie last week.

Monaco's last two away trips in the Champions League have brought a pair of 3-0 defeats at Arsenal and then Internazionale. In 2025, Adi Hutter's men have conceded at least twice in all four of their away games in the CL and Ligue 1. Forced to chase the game at some point tonight, that defensive vulnerability could become a problem again.

The man to take advantage is most likely to be Vangelis Pavlidis. Scorer of the first leg's only goal, the Greek striker also notched in Benfica's 3-2 win over Monaco earlier in the campaign. He scored a hat trick in Benfica's last home CL game - a remarkable 4-5 defeat to Barcelona - since when he's netted five in six club appearances.

Vangelis's CL xG (6.6) suggests he could even have scored more than his six goals in the competition already. We'll take a punt on him to add to his IRL tally this evening.

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