Benfica vs Auckland City Prediction: Eagles to put claws away in Orlando

German giants Bayern Munich gave Auckland City quite the welcome to the 2025 Fifa Club World Cup last Sunday, thrashing their New Zealand counterparts 10-0 in their Group C opener. Next up for the Navy Blues is a game against Portuguese powerhouses SL Benfica, who came from two goals down to rescue a point against Boca Juniors (2-2) in their first match.

Below are my Benfica vs Auckland City predictions, complete with all the latest team news and match odds ahead of Friday's meeting at Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando, Florida (17:00 BST, DAZN).

Team News

Andrea Belotti made a disastrous appearance at Hard Rock Stadium last Sunday, coming on at the start of the second half against Boca Juniors but lasting only 26 minutes before being shown a straight red card for a high foot. The Italian striker, who joined the Aguias on loan from Como at the start of February, will now miss the rest of the group stage after receiving a two-match ban.

Still, given that he was a substitute against the Argentine side, Benfica head coach Bruno Lage won't be forced to make any changes to his starting XI, although the Portuguese tactician may decide alterations are the best course of action following a lacklustre display, particularly in the first half, on Sunday.

Football Odds

Kerem Akturkoglu and Orkun Kokcu were, surprisingly, both deployed as 61st-minute substitutes against Boca Juniors. The Turkey internationals could each earn a promotion to the starting XI on Friday, though, with Bruma and Renato Sanches likely to drop down to the bench.

Leandro Barreiro, Gianluca Prestianni and Andreas Schjelderup are among the others who could earn starts against Auckland, with the Primeira Liga runners-up expected to swat aside the Northern League outfit with ease.

Alvaro Carreras and Vangelis Pavlidis both picked up yellows in Miami Gardens, and the duo could be rested on Friday to avoid another booking, which would incur a one-game ban and see them miss next Tuesday's meeting with Bayern.

On the other side, Auckland boss Paul Posa will surely be pondering changes following his team's mauling at the hands of Bayern last Sunday.

The hammering wasn't unexpected, although not many predicted double figures, but it was still a demoralising defeat, and Posa's players might need a pick-me-up in the form of a transformed starting XI.

Jerson Lagos, Tong Zhou, Ryan De Vries, Angus Kilkolly and Alfie Rogers all came on as second-half substitutes against the Bundesliga champions and will be in with a shout of lining up from the off on Friday.

Benfica vs Auckland City Odds

Benfica (1/1000) are, unsurprisingly, the shortest of prices to win this game, with Auckland's odds of 150/1 implying a 0.7% chance of success, while the draw is offered at 66/1.

Both teams to score is 7/2 if you fancy the Navy Blues to prey on the vulnerabilities evident in the Aguias' defence against Boca Juniors, while over 6.5 goals is 4/5. Meanwhile, a repeat of the 10-0 scoreline in favour of Auckland's opponents can be found at 14/1.

Angel Di Maria was first on the scoresheet for Benfica last Sunday - Boca's Miguel Merentiel was the first for either side - and the legendary Argentine winger is 4/1 to open the scoring on Friday.

Myer Bevan started up top for the New Zealanders against Bayern and lasted the full 90; the 28-year-old is, alongside Kilkolly and De Vries (all 10/1), considered their most likely goalscorer in this game.

Away Team Total Corners Over/Under +1.5 - Over 1.5 @ 2/1

Call me crazy, but I believe Auckland can take at least two corners in this game.

I don't think I've ever seen 2/1 offered for a team to win over 1.5 corners, but the price highlights the gulf in quality between these two clubs, who are operating on very different levels.

On the one hand, you have Portugal's most historically successful club, Benfica, who made it to the last 16 of the Uefa Champions League this season, only exiting the competition at the hands of Barcelona.

On the other hand, you have part-timers Auckland, who beat Hekari United from Papua New Guinea to lift the OFC Champions League trophy in April.

Today's Football Fixtures

Like last Sunday against Bayern, Auckland are expected to receive a pasting from Benfica, but while they only managed one shot against Vincent Kompany's side at TQL Stadium, they recorded double the number of corners, winning their first in the 50th minute and their second in the fourth minute of stoppage time.

There's not much more to be explained, other than, once again, Auckland will be looking to hit their opponents on the break and win any sort of set-piece in the attacking third that they can. Benfica, meanwhile, may be happy to concede a corner or two to prevent any risks inside their own penalty area that could result in an embarrassing concession of a goal.

Auckland hit this selection in their first game, so at 2/1, it may be worth a punt on the New Zealanders taking another two corners on Friday.

Booking Points Over/Under +12.5 - Under 12.5 @ 6/4

I'm not seeing much value in the goalscorer or scoreline markets, and predictions for this game are made harder by the uncertainty of Benfica's starting XI. Lage may well decide to stick with the same starting XI that lined up against Boca in the hope of gaining some rhythm, but I'm of the opinion that he will rotate, avoiding unnecessary suspensions and saving some of his most important players for the crunch clash with Bayern.

The former Wolverhampton Wanderers head coach will also want to hand a few of his fringe players an opportunity to impress, so I'd steer clear of the goalscorer markets until line-ups are named an hour or so before kick-off.

Instead, I'm backing under 12.5 booking points in Orlando. This was a winning selection in Auckland's opening game, with a grand total of zero cards shown between City and Bayern. There were only 15 fouls whistled, with the Germans responsible for 11 of them.

The main reason for that, of course, was that Kompany's charges had the ball for the majority of the match, and Auckland were happy to camp inside their own half.

I'm expecting more of the same on Friday against Benfica, who will be hoping for a much less strenuous contest than their last.

The Portuguese side were involved in a hot-tempered clash with Boca in their Group C opener, with six on-field cards - and one off-field - brandished by the referee. Boca's Ander Herrera was dismissed on the sidelines, while there was a red card for each team on the pitch. In total, 90 booking points were awarded, with Benfica responsible for half (45).

Lage will be keen for his players to show more discipline on Friday, particularly Carreras and Pavlidis, who are walking a disciplinary tightrope.

Backing under 12.5 booking points still offers some leeway, as a single yellow shown between the two teams, amounting to 10 points, would still see us land this selection.

Offers

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