Club World Cup: Benfica vs Auckland City - Betting Tips, Odds & Prediction

After salvaging a point against Boca Juniors, Benfica will look to secure their first Club World Cup victory when they share the pitch with Auckland City on Saturday morning at Inter & Co Stadium in Orlando, Florida. 

Auckland face another uphill battle as they return to action only days after receiving a 10-goal hammering against Bayern Munich. The New Zealanders, however, will feel that they have nothing to lose. 

Could a team unburdened by the weight of expectations end up defying predictions across football betting sites? Read on for our football betting tips on this clash to find out.

Benfica 

Benfica had to dig deep in their opening match against Boca Juniors to claim a share of the spoils. The Portuguese powerhouse were viewed by New Zealand betting sites as the favourites, but Boca left them shell-shocked early on amid the deafening roar of the Hard Rock Stadium crowd. 

Benfica will count themselves lucky to escape with a point, given how shaky they looked early on. They're still expected to go through with Bayern, but their first-half defending was far from convincing.

Team News: Andrea Belotti’s red card against Boca ruled him out of Benfica’s next outing, though the rest of the starting lineup should remain unchanged.

Predicted Lineup: Trubin; Carreras, Otamendi, Silva, Dahl; Sanches, Florentino; Bruma, Aursnes, Di Maria; Pavlidis. 

Auckland City

As expected, Auckland City were no match for Bayern in their opening clash. The German giants cruised to a 10-0 victory, conceding just one shot on goal in return.

With a squad made of non-professionals footballers, Auckland City will face an uphill battle in every match they play in this tournament. They rightfully earned their place as Oceania’s most successful side in recent years, but the gulf in quality between them and the other Club World Cup contenders is plain to see.

Regardless of the outcome, Paul Posa’s men will relish the opportunity to play against another high-profile European opposition. 

Team News: Auckland don’t have any injury or suspension issues heading into this tie. So, expect to see an unchanged lineup.

Predicted Lineup: Tracey; Lobo, Mitchell, Boxall, Murati; Garriga, den Heijer, Ilich; Manickum, Bevan, Yoo.

• Auckland City have appeared in 12 editions of the FIFA Club World Cup, more than any other team.
• Auckland conceded 31 goal attempts against Bayern, with 17 shots on target.
• Both teams have scored in each of the last five Benfica games.
• There have been red card incidents in three of the last four Benfica matches. 
  
  

Benfica couldn’t have asked for a more forgiving opponent than Auckland City to put their campaign back on track after a stuttering start against Boca Juniors. 

On the other end, Auckland looked completely out of their depth against Bayern, and there’s little to suggest they’ll fare any better against a Benfica team desperate to claim all three points.

This clash looks heavily one-sided on paper, with Benfica expected to score at will. Don’t be surprised if they net six or more. Given Auckland’s struggles up front, a clean sheet for the Portuguese side also seems likely. 

However, we must also mention that Benfica couldn’t keep a clean-sheet in their last five matches. The best value lies in backing Benfica on betting apps to win with a -5.5 handicap.

Benfica 6-0 Auckland City @ $7.00

Auckland City shipped six goals in the first half alone against Bayern. While Benfica may not boast the same firepower as the German giants, they should still have no trouble hitting similar numbers across 90 minutes.  The Portuguese side will be eager to score goals since goal difference could come into the playoffs equation. We would recommend backing Benfica winning 6-0 against Auckland City at 20Bet for a potential $7 return.