Sports Mole previews Wednesday’s Women’s Champions League clash between Rosengard and Benfica Women, including predictions, team news and possible line-ups.
After losing 1-0 to Benfica Women two weeks ago, Rosengard will be looking for a better result when they host the Portuguese champions on Wednesday.
Rosengard are yet to score a point in the group stage, while Benfica are three points behind second-placed Bayern Munich.
Match preview
Rosengard booked their place in the group stage with a 4-1 aggregate win over Brann in qualifying, but the Swedish champions struggled to make the move into the main draw.
Despite taking the lead in their first group game against Bayern Munich, Rosengard was edged out 2-1.
They were then beaten 4-1 by Barcelona on Matchday 2, before being narrowly beaten by Benfica in their last Champions League game.
Without a point to their name, Rosengard are currently bottom of Group D with six points separating them from the top two.
Rosengard’s domestic campaign ended in early November and as a result they had two weeks to prepare for Wednesday’s encounter with Benfica.
Meanwhile, Benfica could level the points with Bayern if they beat Rosengard and the German champions lose to Barcelona.
The Portuguese champions started the Champions League group stage with a demoralizing 9-0 loss to Barcelona, before falling 3-2 to Bayern Munich despite holding a two-goal lead.
After missing the chance to claim all three points against Bayern, the Portuguese champions managed to register their first victory of the group stage against Rosengard.
Cloe LacasseThe first-half goal helped Benfica to a narrow 1-0 win that left them three points behind the top two.
Having won their last six games in all competitions, Benfica will be confident of securing yet another victory against Rosengard on Wednesday.
Female form Rosengard (all competitions):
Benfica Women’s Champions League form:
Benfica Women form (all competitions):
Team News
Guardian of Rosengard Teagan Micah should be protected by the pair of central defenders of Bianca Schmidt and Gudrun Arnardottir.
Despite losing to Benfica two weeks ago, Rosengard Renee Slegers could name an unchanged range for the reverse match.
After scoring 11 league goals, Olivia Schough was Rosengaard’s top scorer in the 2022 season, and she will look to continue her domestic form on the European stage on Wednesday.
As for visitors, Catherine Talbert should feature in goal after dropping to the bench for the 1-0 up against Rosengard.
Ana Seica is configured to associate Carol Costa in central defence, and they will be looking to help Benfica record a fifth consecutive clean sheet in all competitions.
Lacasse will retain his place in the front line after scoring in Benfica’s last two Champions League games.
Possible starting composition of Rosengard:
Micah; Oling, Schmidt, Arnardottir, Wik; Persson, Ayinde, Holdt; Bredgaard, Schough, Kullashi
Possible starting line-up of Benfica Women:
Talbert; Valeria, Ucheibe, C. Costa, Alves; Vitoria, Pauleta, Faria; Nazareth, Lacasse, Raysla
We say: Rosengard 1-2 Benfica Women
The reverse game was decided by just one goal, and we believe another close game is on the way for Wednesday, but we believe Benfica will take another narrow win.
For a data analysis of the most likely outcomes, scores and more for this match, please click here.
Trick
Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 1.5 goals in this game. Click here to find out what else they predict for this game and for more of their proven football tips.More than 1.5: data
