Champions League
2025-09-30 - Chelsea vs Benfica
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: UEFA Champions League
Tuesday 30th September 2025 - Kick Off 8pm
This game is live on TV
Chelsea
Rumours were swirling around Stamford Bridge that the board members at Chelsea had headed straight to the dressing room to voice their frustrations after the 1-3 home loss to Brighton. Enzo Maresca has reportedly been told that he is under pressure to turn the results around after a poor run between the international breaks, although the manager will rightly argue that his team were hamstrung by a sending off early in the second half.
They had been winning and playing well before Trevoh Chalobah was dismissed and Chelsea hung onto until the 77th minute before conceding the equaliser and capitulating. The Blues have already been beaten in the Champions League at Bayern Munich earlier in the month and so there is pressure to pick up three points in the first home match in the competition.
Chelsea have won 1 of their last 5 games in all competitions and even that saw them coming from behind against League One Lincoln City in the League Cup Third Round. Around that result, Chelsea have lost 3 of their last 4 games and have conceded at least twice in that run of defeats.
Cole Palmer is the big absentee in the home squad, but Tosin is also set to miss out. Enzo Maresca may choose to make some changes to freshen things up, especially as his team had to play with ten men for much of the second half on Saturday.
Benfica
Twenty-five years after beginning his managerial career with Benfica and leaving after eleven games in charge, Jose Mourinho has returned to Portugal. His first tenure ended after President Elections at Benfica and the refusal to offer Mourinho a contract extension and 'The Special One' had won 6 of 11 games in charge before really making his name with rivals Porto three and a half years later.
The time with Fenerbahce ended poorly after the team failed to make it through to the Champions League Group Stage, but Jose Mourinho is going to be involved for the first time in this new format. He has work to do after Benfica somehow blew a 2-0 lead against Qarabag on Match Day 1 and were beaten 2-3 in front of the home supporters.
Benfica are unbeaten in 3 games in all competitions following that defeat earlier this month and they have won 2 of those fixtures to give Jose Mourinho a platform to build upon. The side have won 3 of their opening 4 away games in all competitions and it was Benfica who got the better of Jose Mourinho's Fenerbahce in the Champions League Qualifiers.
Head to Head
Benfica and Chelsea met in the Second Round at the Club World Cup this summer and it was the English team who won the tie 4-1, albeit After Extra Time.
These Clubs last met at Stamford Bridge in April 2012 and it was Chelsea who 2-1 on their way to a maiden Champions League success.
Prediction
There will be plenty of focus on this Champions League fixture as Jose Mourinho returns to Stamford Bridge, this time as manager of Benfica.
He is early into his second stint in charge of Benfica, while the home team will have a manager feeling the pressure after a poor month of results.
Enzo Maresca may have led Chelsea to the Conference League and Club World Cup trophies, but the inconsistent form is a real concern. Some of the board members at Chelsea have reportedly lost patience with Maresca after the 1-3 home loss to Brighton, and there is big pressure to produce two big results when hosting Benfica and Liverpool before the next international break.
Chelsea were playing pretty well on Saturday, but the early second half sending off changed the entire outlook of the match.
Cole Palmer is a big miss, but this team will still create chances even if Jose Mourinho tries another away European masterclass by making his Benfica team tough to beat.
It just feels a little early for Benfica to really play up to the standards Mourinho may want and they conceded three times to Qarabag in the competition earlier this month. The players will not have forgotten the way Chelsea closed them out in the Club World Cup Second Round in June and The Blues should be able to pick themselves up being back at home.
Nothing will come easy as the pressure builds around the manager, but there should be enough quality within the home squad to earn a narrow victory on the night.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Chelsea 2-0 Benfica
