Crvena Zvezda v Benfica

Red Star Belgrade vs Benfica Preview

Serbian hosts, Red Star Belgrade, will be looking to capture a fourth win on the trot in all competitions when they play host to Portuguese visitors Benfica at their Stadion Rajko Mitic in Thursday night's Champions League tie, while Benfica registered a comprehensive 4-1 victory at home against Santa Clara in the Primeira Liga on the weekend, so both sides will fancy their chances of producing a winning start to their respective Champions League campaigns here.

Despite being handed a 2-1 loss away from home at Bodo/Glimt in the 1st leg of their previous play-off tie, the Serbian hosts registered a solid 2-0 home win in the return leg to win the tie overall by a 3-2 aggregate to send them into the new league phase of the Champions League.

Following that 2nd leg win, Red Star Belgrade then racked up back-to-back wins in the domestic Super Liga, while the bigger picture shows Red Star have been dealt just two defeats in their last 39 matches in all competitions so they are certainly no mugs!

Goals also look likely to feature in this league opener as seven out of Red Star Belgrade's last 10 home games have resulted in Over 2.5 goals.

Benfica slipped to a 2-0 defeat away from home at Famalicao on the opening day of the new domestic Primeira Liga season but the visitors have since turned things around by putting together a four-match unbeaten sequence which consists of three wins and a draw.

League wins against Casa Pia, Estrela and Santa Clara will also give Bruno Lage's side plenty of confidence heading into this opener at the Stadion Rajko Mitic especially as Benfica have lost just twice in their previous 13 games in all competitions, picking up seven wins in the process.

However, results away from home have been pretty disappointing as Benfica have managed to capture just three wins from their last 13 outings on the road overall while also slipping to six defeats within this period as well, so the goals market looks the best option for this upcoming clash.

Red Star Belgrade v Benfica Verdict

Both Red Star Belgrade and Benfica have produced encouraging results recently and we could see a few goals unfold in this encounter.

Therefore, our main bet will be Over 2.5 goals @ 1.72

Other side bets worth considering:

Benfica win & Over 2.5 goals @ 2.75

Correct Score: Benfica 2-1 @ 8.50