Will the Encarnados get off to a good start?
Following a strong finish to the season, OGC Nice moved up to fourth place on the last day of Ligue 1 with a 6-0 win over Brest, securing their place in the Champions League qualifiers. Here, “Le Gym” will be looking to end a dry spell in the French-Portuguese clash between two teams with an eagle on their crest. The Côte d’Azur side have now gone ten international competitive games without a win, which is why our tip for Nice vs. Benfica Lisbon is for the visitors from the Portuguese capital.
It was no coincidence that the Encarnados qualified for the FIFA Club World Cup in the summer. Benfica has not missed out on qualifying for the Champions League in any of the last four seasons, failing only in the preliminary round in 2023/24. In three of the last four seasons, they have reached the knockout stages – in 2021/22 and 2022/23, they even made it to the quarter-finals. Nevertheless, the Portuguese are unlikely to take too many risks, especially in the first leg. There is much to suggest that it will be a tactical match on the Côte d’Azur, which is why our main tip is for a cautious start with a maximum of one goal before half-time.
Although there have been no competitive matches between the two clubs so far, they have only met in two friendly matches. However, both of these games went to the Encarnados, who celebrated three away wins against renowned opponents in the first phase of last season’s Champions League, including AS Monaco (3-2), Juventus Turin (2-0), and Red Star Belgrade (2-1). A combined bet on double chance X2 with under 3.5 goals would therefore also be conceivable, which can be placed via the useful Interwetten app at odds of 2.00.
Nice – Benfica Lisbon Head-to-head record / H2H record
There has never been a European competitive match between these two clubs, who are now facing each other for the first time. Consequently, there is no head-to-head data available that could influence our prediction for Nice vs. Benfica Lisbon in any way.
Nice – Benfica Lisbon Tip
Remarkably, the betting odds from new bookmakers are already leaning towards the Portuguese side in the first leg between Nice and Benfica Lisbon, who, even without an away win on the Côte d’Azur, have an excellent chance of reaching the playoffs, where the winner of the duel between Feyenoord and Fenerbahce would await. The Encarnados have reached the main round of the Champions League in each of the last four years and have even made it to the knockout stages in three of those four campaigns. “Le Gym,” on the other hand, has only played in the Conference League (2022/23) and Europa League (2024/25) in recent years and is currently waiting for a win in ten international competitive games (four draws, six defeats).
We don’t expect the Águias, who have just made a statement in the Portuguese Super Cup with a 1-0 win over Sporting CP, to be too aggressive. Instead, the Encarnados are likely to play from a secure defensive position and wait for their chances. In this context, there are many indications that the first half in particular will be low-scoring.
We therefore recommend betting on under 1.5 goals before the half-time whistle, for which odds of 1.50 are being offered for Nice against Benfica Lisbon, which we are betting on with five out of ten units at Bet-at-home.
