UEFA Champions League 2025/26 Season

[Fakhrulenclix]

The statistics do suggest Dortmund have a much better chance of winning this match, but they also need to be wary of Atalanta as they can sometimes cause surprises, as they did in the Europa League before beating Leverkusen in the final. Leverkusen were quite impressive under Xabi Alonso, having been undefeated at that point, but Atalanta was able to beat them. In the Bundesliga, Dortmund are the best team after Bayern Munich, but the Champions League is sometimes very different, although I'm optimistic about Dortmund's chances in this match.

Atalanta should be taken seriously by Dortmund, as in the Champions League any team can pull off an unexpected upset, as everyone saw against Benfica against Real Madrid. Likewise, Dortmund, who were favored by some before the match, will need to perform at their best against Atalanta if they are to secure a win against Atalanta, even though they are not widely considered the favorites at the moment. However, Atalanta could still pose a threat to Dortmund if they fail to perform well in the playoffs.

In football, anything is indeed possible, but we also need to look and speculate realistically, and in my opinion, Dortmund will not face significant difficulties when playing against Atalanta in the upcoming playoff round because it must be admitted that Atalanta is currently struggling quite a bit this season, which can be well taken advantage of by Dortmund.

And for the Real Madrid vs Benfica match, I think that will be difficult to predict. In terms of strength, Real Madrid is indeed much stronger, but Benfica's dramatic win in their last match will certainly linger in their minds, giving them the hope of being able to repeat it in the upcoming playoff match.

[cande86]

Underestimating Real Madrid is not a pretty cool idea,  you should rather have your thoughts within until the game is over Haha

Is Jose Mourinhos Benfica in a good form, this is another tough question to ask yourself. The odds should have been a lot lesser if they thought Real Madrid to win but that game will be tough. The toughest of these games will be Inter Milan travelling to Norway to face Bodo at home. Take a look at how they dealt with Manchester City,  Inter Milan should come prepared for war.

In fact, no one should underestimate Real Madrid, but we know very well that Jose Mourino knows Real Madrid well and how they behave in certain contexts, and with Benfica i think they have the possibility of doing very well, he demonstrated it in the last match they played against them, it was clear that they would succeed.

[wakier]

The main problem of Benfica as a team becomes when they play in the away condition, in their home they make good games and play strong but when they are away and far from his people they play really bad in some situations.

I only expect a close game in Portugal and a big win in Madrid for Real Madrid.

I predict Real Madrid will lose the first leg at Benfica's home ground, as they without Rodrygo and Asencio due to red cards received in the previous match. Furthermore, Real Madrid without Bellingham from the first leg due to injury. Arbeloa needs to implement effective tactics to dampen Benfica's attacks,as much as possible to avoid a heavy defeat at Benfica's home ground so that it is not difficult to make a comeback to overturn the deficit in the second leg when playing at home.

I believe Real Madrid has learned from the mistakes of the previous meeting and will try to improve their meeting in this knockout round even though two important players will be absent, yes I think Real Madrid will change their strategy to tighten the defense area so that Benfica has difficulty scoring many goals as before, a draw alone is enough for Real Madrid so that Real Madrid can turn the situation around in the second leg.

I think Mourinho also knows a little about Real Madrid weaknesses so the coach will try his best to prove it again in this meeting but usually the results will not be the same because Real Madrid is also not a small club that can be easily defeated.

[8rch7]

I believe Real Madrid has learned from the mistakes of the previous meeting and will try to improve their meeting in this knockout round even though two important players will be absent, yes I think Real Madrid will change their strategy to tighten the defense area so that Benfica has difficulty scoring many goals as before, a draw alone is enough for Real Madrid so that Real Madrid can turn the situation around in the second leg.

I think Mourinho also knows a little about Real Madrid weaknesses so the coach will try his best to prove it again in this meeting but usually the results will not be the same because Real Madrid is also not a small club that can be easily defeated.

I think Madrid has significant improvement for the playoff round matches against Benfica although last match loss over 4-2, its difference stage right now Madrid will face Benfica at the playoff round match and crucial for Madrid winning the match. Not problem yet for Madrid have away for the first leg match and I think all player have been forgetting bad result when defeating by Benfica and has chance Madrid will secure the winning game for the first leg.
Mourinho know well the weakness from Madrid after winning last match but for the playoff round match not easily for predicting for Benfica get the victory result, Madrid get bad news for the playoff round their player Rodrygo will absent for the first leg match.

[Frankolala]

Underestimating Real Madrid is not a pretty cool idea,  you should rather have your thoughts within until the game is over Haha

Is Jose Mourinhos Benfica in a good form, this is another tough question to ask yourself. The odds should have been a lot lesser if they thought Real Madrid to win but that game will be tough. The toughest of these games will be Inter Milan travelling to Norway to face Bodo at home. Take a look at how they dealt with Manchester City,  Inter Milan should come prepared for war.

In fact, no one should underestimate Real Madrid, but we know very well that Jose Mourino knows Real Madrid well and how they behave in certain contexts, and with Benfica i think they have the possibility of doing very well, he demonstrated it in the last match they played against them, it was clear that they would succeed.

There's no guarantee that Benfica will be able to replicate their performance in their last game against Real Madrid in the playoffs again. I don't want to accept it that Benfica is in a good advantage of winning the match because Real Madrid is a team with all the Champions League experience. They will show you what they're made of.

[banana33]

I also know that Real Madrid played very poorly in that game, and from all indications, they will learn from their mistakes and make some corrections this time around. However, we don't know what will end up happening in the game, there is still time, and Real Madrid might do better, even though they have a very tight schedule.

You say that even without a stable coach they will be able to get through the playoffs: to me, honestly, he seems like a giant without a head, or a giant with feet of clay.
It cant go on like this. Let's say he gets through the playoffs and after that i don't think he'll be able to do anything beyond that.

[stompix]

Haha.. you think.
Benfica against Madrid will scale through to the next stage. We can always go outside betting on this, i dont mind.
Real Madrid is not in better form. As long as José Mourinho will coach Benfica, I trust his boys to win Real Madrid at home, while away they can draw, and win the game with an aggregate score.

So I assume you went all in with all your moeny for Benfica, right?
Cause it's right now at 4x or the home game, so 4x the money in two weeks is better than trading meme coins guaranteed profits, right?

Oh and btw, they just did a 0-0 with the near last team in Primeira, probably a mastermind move from Mourinho we peasants can't comprehend...

[SuperBitMan]

Underestimating Real Madrid is not a pretty cool idea,  you should rather have your thoughts within until the game is over Haha

Is Jose Mourinhos Benfica in a good form, this is another tough question to ask yourself. The odds should have been a lot lesser if they thought Real Madrid to win but that game will be tough. The toughest of these games will be Inter Milan travelling to Norway to face Bodo at home. Take a look at how they dealt with Manchester City,  Inter Milan should come prepared for war.

In fact, no one should underestimate Real Madrid, but we know very well that Jose Mourino knows Real Madrid well and how they behave in certain contexts, and with Benfica i think they have the possibility of doing very well, he demonstrated it in the last match they played against them, it was clear that they would succeed.

There's no guarantee that Benfica will be able to replicate their performance in their last game against Real Madrid in the playoffs again. I don't want to accept it that Benfica is in a good advantage of winning the match because Real Madrid is a team with all the Champions League experience. They will show you what they're made of.

Real Madrid is not inform this season as you think and for the fact that Benfica has won them before with that high margin of goals they can still win them again but I’m suspecting the match may just end in draw because I’m sure Real Madrid will do everything possible to make sure that they win the match and same thing goes to benfica.
Real Madrid has more experience in champions league but this time around experience can’t help them because they don’t have the strength if benfica should be very consistent in that game they will surely win Real Madrid again.

[Mayor of ogba]

Underestimating Real Madrid is not a pretty cool idea,  you should rather have your thoughts within until the game is over Haha

Is Jose Mourinhos Benfica in a good form, this is another tough question to ask yourself. The odds should have been a lot lesser if they thought Real Madrid to win but that game will be tough. The toughest of these games will be Inter Milan travelling to Norway to face Bodo at home. Take a look at how they dealt with Manchester City,  Inter Milan should come prepared for war.

In fact, no one should underestimate Real Madrid, but we know very well that Jose Mourino knows Real Madrid well and how they behave in certain contexts, and with Benfica i think they have the possibility of doing very well, he demonstrated it in the last match they played against them, it was clear that they would succeed.

There's no guarantee that Benfica will be able to replicate their performance in their last game against Real Madrid in the playoffs again. I don't want to accept it that Benfica is in a good advantage of winning the match because Real Madrid is a team with all the Champions League experience. They will show you what they're made of.

Real Madrid allowing Benfica to come from behind and beat them 4-2 is a big motivation for Benfica in the playoffs, and even though Benfica can't replicate the same performance in their last game against Real Madrid in the playoffs, I think it will help Benfica believe in themselves that they can beat Real Madrid and qualify for the Champions League knockout phase through the playoffs.

[IceLincoln]

Underestimating Real Madrid is not a pretty cool idea,  you should rather have your thoughts within until the game is over Haha

Is Jose Mourinhos Benfica in a good form, this is another tough question to ask yourself. The odds should have been a lot lesser if they thought Real Madrid to win but that game will be tough. The toughest of these games will be Inter Milan travelling to Norway to face Bodo at home. Take a look at how they dealt with Manchester City,  Inter Milan should come prepared for war.

In fact, no one should underestimate Real Madrid, but we know very well that Jose Mourino knows Real Madrid well and how they behave in certain contexts, and with Benfica i think they have the possibility of doing very well, he demonstrated it in the last match they played against them, it was clear that they would succeed.

I’m still on the fence on this thought,…would Real Madrid allow lightning to strike twice?…. I still feel Benfica had a one off wonder with that 4:2 win against Madrid. I feel it’s not gonna happen again.
Real Madrid if they are to play like they are known to play they should easily defeat Benfica but this is football and it’s champions league where motivation has a lot to do with the outcome of the games than form. If Benfica will show more hunger than they did in the last game then we have ourselves a cinematic experience.

[Solodoski]

So I assume you went all in with all your moeny for Benfica, right?
Cause it's right now at 4x or the home game, so 4x the money in two weeks is better than trading meme coins guaranteed profits, right?

Oh and btw, they just did a 0-0 with the near last team in Primeira, probably a mastermind move from Mourinho we peasants can't comprehend...

When the time is right, I will choose the best odd for the game.

We have seen similar scenario like this, let me give you one instance. Last season, Crystal Palace won Liverpool home and away in the EPL. During the Carabao final last season, many thought Liverpool would win, saying the other times were fluke from Crystal Palace, but Palace won the Carabao cup last season against Liverpool. I draw my conclusion from this example.

I know Benfica has found a way to defeat Real Madrid, home and way they will triumph.

[bastisisca]

Haha.. you think.

Benfica against Madrid will scale through to the next stage. We can always go outside betting on this, i dont mind.

Real Madrid is not in better form. As long as José Mourinho will coach Benfica, I trust his boys to win Real Madrid at home, while away they can draw, and win the game with an aggregate score.

Probably, I'll see what the bookies say about this right away. They're not available yet, i thought they were 11 days ago. The match will be played on February 17, 2026, at 9:00 PM.
Real Madrid's last chance to stay in contention, then out of the Champions League.
If it were to pass i don't think it could go very far, negative outlook

[Pandu Geddon]

I’m still on the fence on this thought,…would Real Madrid allow lightning to strike twice?…. I still feel Benfica had a one off wonder with that 4:2 win against Madrid. I feel it’s not gonna happen again.
Real Madrid if they are to play like they are known to play they should easily defeat Benfica but this is football and it’s champions league where motivation has a lot to do with the outcome of the games than form. If Benfica will show more hunger than they did in the last game then we have ourselves a cinematic experience.

In that match, good luck might not come easily for Benfica. If the game is tight, I think there will also be some goals that truly show the extraordinary competition between the two.
Nonetheless, Madrid is a big team with the spirit to win. They will not be easy to beat again. As for Benfica, they have beaten them before, and it is very possible for them to do it again, although it certainly will not be easy.

[JeromeTash]

Haha.. you think.

Benfica against Madrid will scale through to the next stage. We can always go outside betting on this, i dont mind.

Real Madrid is not in better form. As long as José Mourinho will coach Benfica, I trust his boys to win Real Madrid at home, while away they can draw, and win the game with an aggregate score.

If you said this in a competition like Copa del Rey, I would believe you, but in the Champions League? You know what Real Madrid is capable of to get into the knockout phase. During the knockout phase they may get eliminated, but they would not just fail to qualify for the phase that easily.
Benfica is going to have to overwork on this one if they want to proceed to the next round, but a Real Madrid that is under pressure in the Champions League is a different one.

[paco92x]

There's no guarantee that Benfica will be able to replicate their performance in their last game against Real Madrid in the playoffs again. I don't want to accept it that Benfica is in a good advantage of winning the match because Real Madrid is a team with all the Champions League experience. They will show you what they're made of.

I know that Real managed to lose an important match against Benfica and lost their spot in the Top 8. But in the playoffs there are two games, and in the end Real will emerge as the winner, mainly because Benfica might have one good game, but winning both will be very difficult. They will collapse under the pressing that Real will put on them.

[Cossyblack]

Real Madrid is not inform this season as you think and for the fact that Benfica has won them before with that high margin of goals they can still win them again but I’m suspecting the match may just end in draw because I’m sure Real Madrid will do everything possible to make sure that they win the match and same thing goes to benfica.
Real Madrid has more experience in champions league but this time around experience can’t help them because they don’t have the strength if benfica should be very consistent in that game they will surely win Real Madrid again.

Bro real madrid is in from this season, because they lost  4-2 to benfica isn't a convinced reason that they are not in form. Jose mourinho has coached real madrid in the past,so he knows alot about his former team and their weakness in the UEFA champions League. Mourinho clearly understands how to defeat real madrid that was why benfica were able to defeat real madrid otherwise benfica wouldn't have won. Real madrid wouldn't be beaten easily again that is for sure. We should wait and see what happen in the game.

[Spaceman1000$]

Underestimating Real Madrid is not a pretty cool idea,  you should rather have your thoughts within until the game is over Haha

Is Jose Mourinhos Benfica in a good form, this is another tough question to ask yourself. The odds should have been a lot lesser if they thought Real Madrid to win but that game will be tough. The toughest of these games will be Inter Milan travelling to Norway to face Bodo at home. Take a look at how they dealt with Manchester City,  Inter Milan should come prepared for war.

In fact, no one should underestimate Real Madrid, but we know very well that Jose Mourino knows Real Madrid well and how they behave in certain contexts, and with Benfica i think they have the possibility of doing very well, he demonstrated it in the last match they played against them, it was clear that they would succeed.

There's no guarantee that Benfica will be able to replicate their performance in their last game against Real Madrid in the playoffs again. I don't want to accept it that Benfica is in a good advantage of winning the match because Real Madrid is a team with all the Champions League experience. They will show you what they're made of.

Real Madrid is not inform this season as you think and for the fact that Benfica has won them before with that high margin of goals they can still win them again but I’m suspecting the match may just end in draw because I’m sure Real Madrid will do everything possible to make sure that they win the match and same thing goes to benfica.
Real Madrid has more experience in champions league but this time around experience can’t help them because they don’t have the strength if benfica should be very consistent in that game they will surely win Real Madrid again.

We've all seen how uninform Madrid is, but they can come out as a wounded lion against Benfica and do wonders. Madrid have a reputation to protect despite going through this struggling phase. If I should place a bet on that match, I wouldn't really think it twice to give Real Madrid straight win, they have the potentials. Benfica have been impressive lately, but I won't mind to put my money where my mouth is.

[MainIbem]

There's no guarantee that Benfica will be able to replicate their performance in their last game against Real Madrid in the playoffs again. I don't want to accept it that Benfica is in a good advantage of winning the match because Real Madrid is a team with all the Champions League experience. They will show you what they're made of.

I know that Real managed to lose an important match against Benfica and lost their spot in the Top 8. But in the playoffs there are two games, and in the end Real will emerge as the winner, mainly because Benfica might have one good game, but winning both will be very difficult. They will collapse under the pressing that Real will put on them.

It's going to be a revenge match, Real Madrid missed an opportunity to qualify without the playoffs because of Benfica so they’ll be back for revenge, although Benfica might survive the first leg of the playoffs because it's in their ground but I don't think they'll survive the second leg since it would be at Real Madrid's ground. People say that Masrid is a finished team because of how they handled the Champions league  this season, well let's see if they're truly finished or not.

[1kodumtek7]

I don't expect Real Madrid to let it happen again. They should be able to eliminate Benfica especially by getting a convincing result in the second leg which is at Santiago Bernabeu.

That 4-2 loss was really out of nowhere. Benfica desperately needed that extra goal difference to make it through. It was an incredible ending. 

Maybe Real Madrid don't have a permanent manager yet but at least Arbeloa should be able to get past this kind of smaller teams in the Champions League.

[banana33]

I think Dortmund is a small favourite and I see their chances to advance to the next round at maybe around 60%. The game at home is a bigger avantage for Dortmund as they have proven internationally that they can beat any team at any time in their home stadium. In the Bundesliga Dortmund so far lost only one game and have the second best defense while it is looking much worse for Atalanta in Serie A. They were now able to beat Juventus Turin 3-0, which I think should be a strong warning for Dortmund of course.

Dortmund are the absolute favourites even though they don't play in the German league. They have a very good game plan and everyone knows this, which is why they are very feared, but Atalanta have shown that they know how to win, so as you say, it's a great warning to all those who think they are bad.