Club Friendly - Benfica vs Tottenham betting preview

This season will be Tottenham`s first in the Champions League and while today`s match is only a f riendly it should give them a taste of what they are in for in Europe`s top club competition. Benfica, unlike Spurs, qualified automatically after comfortably winning their domestic league and during their Europa League campaign showed why, beating sides such as Marseille and Liverpool and crushing Everton 7-0 on aggregate.

Tottenham are unlikely to be overawed by their opponents, however, after beating sides such as Arsenal and Premier League Champions Chelsea last season while finishing fourth, three places ahead of the Liverpool side that convincingly knocked Benfica out of the Europa League.

The hosts are favourites for the game, held at the famous Estadio da Luz, priced at 10/11 (bet £11 to win £10 profit) with Sky Bet and Ladbrokes. Spurs are available at 3/1 with Paddy Power, while the draw is at the same price on Betfair.

The bookmakers believe the game is likely to be close and a 1-1 draw has been made the favourite score for the game at 15/2 with Sky Bet, followed by 1-0 to Benfica at 9/1 with Bet 365 and 2-0 and 11/1 on Betfair. A 1-0 win for Tottenham and a 0-0 draw are both 18/1 on Betfair, while a 2-2 draw is as long as 28/1 with William Hill.

William Hill are the only firm to offer a first goalscorer market for the match and they make Oscar Cardozo, who impressed for Paraguay at the World Cup, favourite at 9/2 to open the scoring, ahead of former Real Madrid man Javier Saviola. Jermain Defoe, who had a disappointing World Cup despite scoring against Slovenia, is Tottenham`s best hope of breaking the deadlock, at 13/2, while Peter Crouch is available at 7/1.

Totesport offer 2/1 that Benfica get going quickly and lead at both half-time and full-time and the Portuguese Champions are 4/1 on Betfair to win the match despite drawing at the interval. Spurs/Spurs is 13/2 with Extrabet and Victor Chandler and draw/Spurs is 9/1 with Bet 365 and Sky Bet.

The match kicks off this evening in Portugal at 7.45 pm BST.

Benfica vs Tottenham betting odds

Premier League winner betting odds

Champions League winner betting odds

Other football betting news and previews