The Champions League qualifiers continue, and we have a big game on Wednesday night between Nice and Benfica! In the 1st leg game, I'm predicting that Benfica isn't going to lose.

Last season wasn't easy for Nice as they finished in the 4th position and secured that only in the last round. Over the past few weeks, Nice has played a total of 6 friendly games and managed to win 4 of them. While the record is positive, I wouldn't say that the wins were very convincing. The opponents weren't from the top tier, and Nice had a tough time against Sheffield United (3:2), St. Pauli (0:2), Feyenoord (2:1), Nancy (3:3), and Cercle Brugge (2:1).

Benfica lost the local championship last season by only 2 points, so the motivation this season should be sky-high. In June, Benfica played in the FIFA Club World Cup. During the group stage, Benfica had 2 wins and 1 draw, and one of the wins was over Bayern. In the 1st play-off round, Benfica managed to get into overtime against Chelsea, but lost them as Benfica got an early red card at the start of the extra time. After the tournament, Benfica has played two games. Benfica beat Fenerbahce (3:2) in the friendly game, and last week, they beat Sporting in the Portuguese Supercup game.

I like Benfica's chances in this game. First of all, they are better prepared. They already played in the FIFA Club World Cup, and they already had an official game, and they should be more physically ready. Benfica is also more experienced on the international stage. Last season, they competed well in the Champions League, where they had 4 wins in 8 league phase games, and they only lost in the top 16 round. As for Nice, they played in the Europa League, but didn't record a single win and were the 2nd-worst team.

欧冠预选赛还在继续，周三晚上我们有一场重要的比赛，尼斯对阵本菲卡！第一回合，我预测本菲卡不会输。

上个赛季对尼斯来说并不容易，他们在最后一轮才获得第四名。在过去的几周里，尼斯一共打了6场友谊赛，赢了其中的4场。虽然记录是积极的，我不会说胜利是非常令人信服的。对手并非来自顶级联赛，尼斯在对阵谢菲尔德联队（3:2）、圣保利（0:2）、费耶诺德（2:1）、南希（3:3）和布鲁日（2:1）时都很艰难。

本菲卡上赛季仅以2分的差距失去了当地冠军，所以本赛季的动力应该是非常高的。今年6月，本菲卡参加了国际足联世俱杯。在小组赛中，本菲卡取得了2胜1平的战绩，其中一场胜利是对阵拜仁。在第一轮附加赛中，本菲卡设法进入加时赛对阵切尔西，但由于本菲卡在加时赛开始时早早得到红牌而输掉了比赛。联赛结束后，本菲卡踢了两场比赛。本菲卡在友谊赛中击败费内巴切（3:2），上周，他们在葡萄牙超级杯比赛中击败了里斯本竞技。

我喜欢本菲卡在这场比赛中的机会。首先，他们有更好的准备。他们已经参加了国际足联世俱杯，他们已经参加了一场正式比赛，他们应该做好更多的身体准备。本菲卡在国际舞台上也更有经验。上赛季，他们在欧冠联赛中表现出色，在8场联赛阶段的比赛中取得了4场胜利，而且他们只在16强输球。至于尼斯，他们参加了欧联杯，但没有取得一场胜利，是倒数第二的球队。