Fenerbahçe vs Benfica: UEFA Champions League Prediction (20.08.2025)

On August 20, 2025, at 21:00 CEST, the first leg of the Champions League qualifying final will feature Fenerbahçe against Benfica. Bookmakers consider the chances of both teams to be roughly equal in this match. However, over the two-leg tie, the favorites are the representatives from the Portuguese league. Odds: 2.45 for Fenerbahçe and 1.55 for Benfica. Let’s review the current form of the teams and provide our match prediction.

Fenerbahçe

The “Yellow Canaries” failed to reach the Champions League last season. José Mourinho’s main goal was to qualify for Europe’s most prestigious tournament. In this season’s qualifying, Fenerbahçe started from the third round but ended up in a very challenging part of the bracket, where the opponents are already closer to the main stage or even the playoff stage than the qualifying round.

In the previous tie, the Turkish club nearly stumbled. They lost the first leg to Feyenoord 1-2. However, in the home leg, the “Yellow Canaries” delivered one of their best performances in recent times and crushed their opponents 5-2.

Benfica

Last season was extremely busy for the “Eagles.” The club won the Portuguese League Cup, played in the Portuguese Cup final, and fought for first place in the league until the final matchday. They also competed in the Champions League, reached the playoff, but lost a tight contest against Barcelona. Benfica also played in the Club World Cup, advanced to the playoff, but lost to the tournament winner, Chelsea.

With such a packed schedule, Benfica had little time for a proper preseason, as they played in the Portuguese Super Cup at the end of July, defeating Sporting 1-0. Nevertheless, the team is in good form. In the previous Champions League qualifying round, Bruno Lage’s men easily beat Nice twice, 2-0 each.

Stats and Head-to-Head Record

Since 2013, the teams have met five times. In 2013, they met in the Europa League semifinals, exchanging home wins – 1-0 in Turkey and 3-1 in Portugal. In 2018, they met in the Champions League qualifying semifinals. Benfica won 1-0 at home and drew 1-1 in Turkey. Their last encounter was three weeks ago in a friendly match, with the “Eagles” winning 3-2.

Prediction

In the Fenerbahçe – Benfica match, the prediction favors the visitors. Benfica is in good playing condition. Last season transitioned smoothly into the current season, and the team has shown very strong results. Therefore, betting on a 0 handicap for Benfica with odds of 1.87 is recommended.