Preview: Nice vs Benfica - prediction, team news, lineups

The most high-profile tie across the Third Qualifying Round of the Champions League will get underway at the Allianz Riviera on Wednesday night, when Nice welcome Benfica to southern France.

Following the playoff draw on Monday, it was discovered that the winners of this tie will face the victors of the clash between Fenerbahce and Feyenoord, making it a devilishly difficult ask for all four clubs in reaching the league phase.

Match preview

For hosts Nice, this will be their first competitive outing of the season, with the Ligue 1 campaign not getting underway for another two weeks.

Franck Haise’s men will welcome Toulouse here on August 16, a few days after their trip to Lisbon for the second leg, where they hope they will be leaving having caused a mini upset.

Despite coming fourth in Ligue 1 last season, Nice have to face two rounds of qualifiers to determine what UEFA competition they will compete in this season, and they have been handed the most arduous of tasks in Benfica first up.

Nice have not played in the competition proper since 1959-60, and they are the clear underdogs in this tie too, especially following their woeful European campaign last year.

Haise’s side flopped remarkably in the Europa League, taking just three points from their eight league phase matches, finishing second-bottom in 35th.

That was a continuation of some disappointing European performances over the past decade that has seen the French club win just one knockout tie, against Sheriff Tiraspol, and one campaign where they were beaten in qualifying by Apollon Limassol.

Conference League is the absolute minimum Nice will achieve, but aims will be centred on an unlikely push for the Champions League, and they completed pre-season preparation by beating Sheffield United in a friendly at the weekend.

Benfica have warmed up for the new season with a much lighter preseason schedule, largely due to their participation in the Club World Cup earlier this summer.

Following a last-16 exit to Chelsea in the USA, Benfica had a brief break, and returned to action with a friendly against Fenerbahce, winning 3-2, before beating bitter rivals Sporting Lisbon to the win the Super Cup last Thursday, with Vangelis Pavlidis netting the only goal.

The Primeira Liga season does get underway this weekend, but Benfica have been afforded the week off, so they can fully focus on reaching the league phase, and improving Portugal’s coefficient, which has taken a hit in recent years.

Finishing second in Portugal, as Benfica did last season, would normally not require needing to go through two rounds of qualifying, but that is the reality this time around for Bruno Lage's men, adding an extra layer of difficulty as the Lisbon giants look to reach the competition for a fifth season in a row.

Benfica form (all competitions):

Team News

Nice have had a fully-fit squad available to them during preseason, so Haise should be able to name a strong XI for this first leg.

There has been two notable outgoings, with goalkeeper Marcin Bulka and attacker Gaetan Laborde both leaving to move to Saudi Arabia.

Yehvann Diouf has arrived from relegated Reims to fill the void in goal, while Isak Jansson is in from Rapid Vienna to plug the gap left by Laborde, and both players could make their competitive debuts here.

Benfica have had a busy summer as they look to wrestle Portuguese supremacy back off rivals Sporting, and Franjo Ivanovic is the latest newcomer, joining from Union SG in the past week.

Ivanovic will have a tough time replacing Pavlidis in the starting XI though, as the Super Cup hero from last week also has six goals in his last six Champions League appearances.

On the injury front, Bruma, Alexander Bah and Tomas Araujo are among the notable names set to miss out for the Eagles.

Nice possible starting lineup:

Diouf; Mendy, Juma Bah, Dante; Clauss, Sanson, Boudaoui, Bard; Bouanani, Moffi, Guessand

Benfica possible starting lineup:

Trubin; Dedic, Antonio Silva, Otamendi, Dahl; Rios, Barrenechea, Barreiro; Aursnes, Pavlidis, Akturkoglu

We say: Nice 0-2 Benfica

Now on a run of 18 games without losing in regulation time, Benfica will fancy their chances of being in the driving seat heading into the second leg, potentially even with a scoreboard lead.

Nice battled hard to finish in the top four in what was a thrilling race in Ligue 1 last season, but they could hardly have been handed a tougher draw, and they will struggle to advance from this one.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.