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Basel will welcome Benfica to the St. Jakob-Park in a pre-season friendly on Sunday.
The hosts are playing in their third friendly of the match of the pre-season and recorded a 2-1 win against Vaduz last week after suffering a 1-0 defeat against CSKA Sofia earlier this month. Fabian Frei and Jean-Kévin Augustin were on the scoresheet while Seifedin Chabbi halved the deficit for Vaduz late in the second half.
The visitors got their pre-season underway with a 2-0 win over Southampton at the St George's Park National Football Centre on Wednesday thanks to goals from David Neres and Mihailo Ristić.
After this match, the hosts will get their 2023-24 Swiss Super League campaign up and running against St. Gallen next Saturday. They also have a UEFA Europa Conference League qualifier scheduled after that.
The visitors have three more friendlies after this match, including a match against Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr at the Estádio Algarve next week.
Basel vs Benfica Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- The two teams have squared off four times in all competitions, with all meetings coming in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League. The hosts have a 2-1 lead in wins and one game has ended in a draw.
- They last met in the group stage of the 2017-18 edition of the competition. The hosts recorded a 7-0 win on aggregate in the two meetings, including a 5-0 win at home.
- The visitors are unbeaten in their last eight games in all competitions, including friendlies. They have kept five clean sheets in that period.
- The hosts have a couple of wins from their last seven games in all competitions. At home, they have just one win from their last eight games.
Basel vs Benfica Prediction
RotBlau finished fifth in the Swiss Super League last season and will look to improve upon that record in the 2023-24 campaign. They will have their work cut out for themselves against Benfica, who won the Primeira Liga last season. They have a solid record against the Portuguese champions, keeping clean sheets in their last two meetings.
As Águias signed off for the 2022-23 campaign on a seven-game unbeaten run and continued that form with a 2-0 win in their first friendly of the season over Southampton. While they have been second-best against the hosts, they have a strong squad at the moment and should be able to record a narrow win.
Prediction: Basel 1-2 Benfica
Basel vs Benfica Betting Tips
Tip 1: Result - Benfica
Tip 2: Goals - Over/Under 2.5 Goals - Over 2.5 goals
Tip 3: At least a goal to be scored in the first half - Yes
Tip 4: Jean-Kévin Augustin to score or assist any time - Yes
