The Portuguese side thrashed Auckland City 6-0 on June 20 and now sit on four points after two group games. That means they just need a draw against Bayern, who already have six points and are through to the round of 16, to advance.
While Benfica took a while to get going against Auckland (their first goal didn’t come until eight minutes into first-half stoppage time), they exploded in the second half, creating six big chances and not allowing a single shot from inside their own box.
Manager Bruno Lage has already made history by guiding Benfica to their first-ever Club World Cup appearance. While they did play in the competition’s predecessor, the Intercontinental Cup, twice, they lost both times.
Benfica ended the 2024–25 season as runners-up in the Primeira Liga, finishing with 80 points, matching their total from the previous year. However, their form heading into Tuesday’s match has been shaky. Aside from the win over Auckland, they hadn’t won any of their previous four matches, though they only lost once in that span. One positive is they've scored in each of their last 17 games, finding the net at least twice in 13 of those.
Bayern, meanwhile, come into this one on a high after a 2-1 win over Boca Juniors on Saturday. That victory made them the first team to beat a South American side in the Club World Cup in the last 10 meetings. Under Vincent Kompany, Bayern managed 11 shots and four on target in that game, slightly below the nearly 19 shots and 7.5 on-target efforts they averaged per match in the Bundesliga last season.
A draw will be enough for Bayern to finish top of the group, which would give them a potentially easier matchup in the round of 16 against one of the runners-up from groups B, D, F or H.
History is on Bayern’s side. They’re unbeaten in their last seven meetings with Benfica, winning six and scoring 20 goals in those games. Kompany is unbeaten in his last nine matches in charge, with six wins and five games where his team scored three or more goals.
INJURIES & SUSPENSION
Benfica centre-back Antonio Silva is expected to line up alongside veteran Nicolas Otamendi at the heart of the defence. In midfield, Orkun Kokcu and Leandro Barreiro are both strong candidates to start after impressing in the win over Auckland City.Up front, Angel Di Maria, who scored twice in that game, could feature again in the attacking line, potentially joined by Vangelis Pavlidis, Kerem Akturkoglu, and Gianluca Prestianni.
On the Bayern side, manager Vincent Kompany is likely to field a strong starting XI as he looks to secure top spot in the group. Josip Stanisic and Jonathan Tah are expected to start in defence.
Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka formed the midfield partnership against Boca Juniors and could continue together on Tuesday.
With Thomas Muller picking up an injury in the last match, Michael Olise, Jamal Musiala, and Kingsley Coman may be the preferred attacking midfield trio supporting Harry Kane up front.
POSSIBLE LINE-UPS
Benfica possible starting lineup:Trubin; Aursnes, Silva, Otamendi, Carreras; Barreiro, Kokcu; Di Maria, Prestianni, Akturkoglu; Pavlidis
Bayern Munich possible starting lineup:
Neuer; Laimer, Tah, Stanisic, Guerreiro; Kimmich, Goretzka; Olise, Musiala, Coman; Kane
EXPERT PREDICTION
Benfica 2-3 Bayern MunichBayern might make early second-half substitutions to avoid any injury risks, which could work in Benfica’s favor.
Even so, Kompany will still expect his team to go for the win. With how sharp they’ve been in the final third, Bayern will be confident about finding the net multiple times.
