Benfica v Dortmund Betting Tips: Portuguese outfit not to be discounted on home soil

As the Champions League begins to whir into action for the second time this season, Portuguese Primiera Liga leaders Benfica play host to German outfit Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday night.

On the face of it, this might appeal as a very winnable game for the visitors; however, the Germans haven’t exactly been firing on all cylinders of late, while the hosts are certainly no mugs, that’s for sure.

At odds of 11/8, backing the home team on the ‘Draw No Bet’ market looks to be the best option here. Whether it’s in a less fashionable league or not, Benfica have been in excellent form at home of late and could quite easily make this a tough evening for the visiting Dortmund.

During the group stages, Benfica may have been narrowly beaten by the mercurial Napoli, but they looked solid in their other two matches in front of a home crowd, while they’re currently undefeated in the league this season when playing at Estádio da Luz.

Naturally, the visitors are known as a flamboyant, attacking team, one capable of dismantling any opposition when at their best. There’s plenty of truth in this statement; however, Thomas Tuchel’s men haven’t quite been at it of late while they’ve also been experiencing defensive issues for the majority of this campaign. As lowly Darmstadt proved in the Bundesliga on Saturday, when BVB are not quite at their best going forward, they can certainly be got at. This is largely down to the fact that they constantly look to play on the front foot, a tactic that leaves plenty of space in behind a rearguard that really isn’t the sturdiest.

It really would be no surprise if Benfica were able to profit on the counter in this first-leg and, providing they can remain patient and keep things tight defensively, the Portuguese outfit, at the prices, look a decent bet to take a positive result with them when travelling to Germany in a few weeks time.

An additional bet that catches the eye here is, ‘Benfica to Score Over 0.5 First Half Goals‘. Not only have Rui Vitória’s men scored at least once during the first 45 in eight of their last ten home matches, but Dortmund have had a bit of a tendency to concede early goals this season. It took Darmstadt just 21 minutes to profit from the aforementioned tactics on Saturday afternoon, while Dortmund have conceded at least once in three of their last five on the road.

The sale of stalwart Mats Hummels has left a big void in the Dortmund back-line this season and this could begin to really tell now they’re into the latter stages of Europe’s premier competition.

When these two meet in Lisbon on Tuesday night, for all Dortmund’s forward verve, the hosts should not be discounted and are fancied to catch out a travelling team who’ve won just won of their last seven competitive matches away from home.

See more Champions League tips here.