Our prediction for this Champions League match:
Crvena Zvezda
Match Time & Date:
19/09/2024
09:45 AM
Prediction: 1-1
Benfica
Stadion Rajko Mitic will be packed when Crvena Zvezda and Benfica go head to head in the Champions League round 1 on Thursday. The Red Devils failed to impress in the Champions League group stages last term and, no doubt, they are eager to make amends for the unsuccessful campaign. The club chiefs have added the likes of Nemanja Radonjic, Rade Krunic, and Silas Katompa Mvumpa to the squad and seeing that Zvezda are tough to beat in Belgrade, we predict that they are going to grab something from Wednesday’s clash.
The Eagles, on the other hand, made a slow start to the season, with the team already dropping five points in the new Primeira Liga campaign. As Benfica have been struggling on the travels this term, we are tempted to put our money on draw. The good news for the visitors is that Angel Di Maria has overcome his injury, but both Fredrik Aursnes and Tiago Gouveia remain in the recovery room.
Highlighted Player (Angel di Maria):
Angel Di Maria is a professional footballer who played for Argentine side Rosario Central at the start of his senior career. The left-footed winger is very quick on the ball and he often makes life difficult for opposition defenders. After playing for Benfica between 2007 and 2010, the Argentine superstar signed for Real Madrid on 28 June, 2010 for a fee of €25 million + €11 million in bonuses.
Despite impressing with los Blancos in the 2013/2014 La Liga campaign, the club chiefs decided to sell him to Manchester United on 26 August, 2014. Di Maria was playing below expectations at Old Trafford and he scored three goals in 27 league games for the Red Devils.
In 2015 he moved to Paris Saint-Germain and he scored 10 goals in 29 league appearances for les Parisiens in the 2015/2016 Ligue 1 campaign. In 2014 he won the Champions League trophy with Real Madrid and that is considered the biggest success of his career. Angel Di Maria was born in Rosario on 14 February, 1988.
Highlighted Team (Crvena Zvezda):
Crvena Zvezda are the most famous club in Balkans. The Crveno-beli have 19 Yugoslav First League titles and have won eight domestic trophies since the breakup of Yugoslavia. Crvena Zvezda won their last league title in the 2015/2016 season, with the team finishing the campaign no less than 28 points clear of Partizan.
Speaking of Partizan, the Crno-beli are considered Crvena Zvezda’s bitterest rivals and the two teams meet in the “Eternal derby” (Veciti derbi). The capital club did well to win the European Cup title in 1991, with the team beating Olympique Marseile on penalties in the title game. That is considered the club’s biggest success, but it has to be noted that the Serbian club won the International Cup later in 1991. Crvena Zvezda outclassed Colo Colo of Chile (3-0) at National Stadium in Tokyo.
The likes of Dejan Savicevic, Vladimir Jugovic, Dragan Stojkovic, Dragoslav Sekularac, Rajko Mitic, Dusan Savic, Nemanja Vidic and Dejan Stankovic are some of the famous footballers who played for Crvena Zvezda in the past.
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