SL Benfica Women vs Lyon Women Prediction 19.03.2024

• Competition: UEFA Women's Champions League
• Date: Tuesday, 19th, March 2024
• Kickoff: 20:00 UTC / 21.00 CET
• Venue: Estadio Municipal Jose Martins Viera (Lisbon)

Record-breaking Women's Champions League winners Lyon Femmes kick off their knockout journey on Tuesday as they travel to Portugal to face Benfica Women at the Estadio Municipal Jose Martins Viera for the first leg of their quarter-final tie.

SL Benfica Women vs Lyon Women Betting Tips: Over 2.5

When we talk about the most delightful surprise of this year's Champions League group stage, Benfica Women definitely stand out, becoming the first Portuguese club in women's football to reach the knockout rounds, and the journey was nothing short of spectacular, finishing second ahead of 4-time competition winners Eintracht Frankfurt Women.

Despite kicking off their campaign in Europe's most elite club competition with a nightmare, as reigning champions Barcelona Women inflicted them a five-star demolition, As Aguias responded with sheer briliance to that opening-day setback by going unscathed in the subsequent five group challenges (W2, D3) to achieve an extraordinary achievement.

The comfort of playing in front of their home crowd proved to be the linchpin in their historic feat, as they picked up seven out of nine available points from three home group stage clashes, claiming narrow 1-0 beatings of Rosengard W and the tournament's second-most decorated Frankfurt side, before producing a spectacle by keeping Champions League holders Baca W to a dramatic eight-goal share of the spoils (4-4).

The draw for the knockout rounds certainly didn't smile upon the Portuguese women's powerhouses, as they drew none other than the ladies who have lifted the trophy more than any other side in the competition's history, and what's even more impressive, OL has already been crowned five times (out of a total of 8) before Benfica W played their first official match in 2018.

With a firm grip on the steering wheel of their domestic league, holding a comfortable seven-point lead over closest pursuers PSG W, Les Fenottes are resolute and unwavering in their ambition to reclaim the UCL crown, all while keeping a watchful eye on not replicating last season's misstep, where they were dumped out in the quarterfinals by Chelsea W on penalties.

Surprisingly packing their bags in the Coupe de France for Women semifinals, as they were knocked out by Fleury 91 due to a superior penalty shootout, Sonia Bompastor's squad "accidentally" crossed paths with the same opponent six days later in the French top-flight to serve them a merciless revenge in a 4-0 demolition last time out.

Incidentally, the two sides had previously crossed swords during Benfica's debut group-stage outing of the 2021-22, but the Portuguese women's side doesn't fondly remember those group battles, with Lyon Women running riot in both, handing them demoralizing 0-5 defeats. 

The transformation led by Filipa Patao with her squad is nothing short of mesmerizing, and it reflects in their current UCL campaign, leaving no doubt they will show their teeth to the record Champions League winners in hopes of replicating the sensational display from the thriller 4-4 draw against the reigning champs Barcelona Women. The quality of these teams is crystal clear, and anything but a dominant victory for the French girls would be shocking.