BOOKINGS boff Gavin Murphy (@GamePlanGavin) eyes up a bookings bet from Tuesday’s critical Champions League clash between Benfica and Napoli.
Benfica v Napoli | Tuesday 19:45 | BT Sport Extra
The top two teams in Group B go head-to-head on the final matchday with first place the prize for whoever wins in Lisbon.
Both Benfica and Napoli will go through if Besiktas lose at already-eliminated Dynamo Kiev on the same night, while Napoli beat Benfica on matchday two so will qualify with a draw.
The teams both have eight points, one more than Besiktas, and Benfica will be hoping they are not made to pay for allowing the Turks to recover from going three goals down after 31 minutes on matchday five to force a 3-3 draw.
On the same night Napoli also suffered frustration as they were held to a 0-0 draw at home by Dynamo.
The matchday two fixture found Benfica on the wrong end of a scintillating attacking display as Napoli surged into a 4-0 lead by the 58th minute, with Dries Mertens twice on target. Rui Vitoria’s side made the scoreline respectable with two late goals.
All-or-nothing in Lisbon
So it looks like an all-or-nothing game on Tuesday evening and that bodes well for cards.
Spanish official Antonio Mateu Lahoz is given the whistle. He is averaging 6.80 cards per-game in La Liga this season.
Lahoz averaged 6.05 cards per-game in the Champions League group stages last season. He gave seven cards in the match between Porto and Chelsea as well as four yellows and a red in the match between Olympiakos and Dynamo Zagreb.
This season, Benfica are averaging 2.00 cards per-Champions League game and Napoli just one card per-game.
However, out of 32 teams, the Portuguese hosts are third worst for committing fouls (79) and the Italians rank fifth with 73.
The angle of attack
With stakes severely raised in Lisbon tonight, I’m very happy to be backing 50 or more bookings points at 8/11 with SkyBet.
If you’re new to Bookings Points, a yellow card earns 10 Bookings Points and a red card earns 25 Bookings Points. If a player receives two yellow cards and is consequently shown a red card, he receives a total of 35 Bookings Points.
TOPICS Champions League Tips FootballBest Bets
Benfica v Napoli – 50 or more Bookings Points (8/11 SkyBet)
