Dynamo and Benfica in need of victory

With just one point from their first two fixtures, both FC Dynamo Kyiv and SL Benfica are desperate for a first victory to strengthen their challenge in Group B.

• Should another draw ensue, and SSC Napoli beat Beşiktaş JK, then the Italian side will become the first ever to qualify with three games remaining.

Previous meetings
• The sides have met once before, in the 1991/92 European Champion Clubs' Cup group stage when Dynamo won 1-0 at home. Nineteen-year-old Rui Costa came on as a substitute for Benfica.

• The line-ups in Kyiv on 27 November 1991 were:
Dynamo: Koutepov, Luzhny, Tsveiba, Aleksanenkov, Shmatovalenko, Kovalets, Moroz, Zaets, Salenko, Moroz, Sharan (Betsa 77).
Benfica: Barros, Kulkov, Madeira, Bento, Veloso (Costa 65), Thern, Paneira, Schwarz, Águas, Isaías (Pacheco 75), Yuran.

• Oleh Salenko got the only goal for Anatoliy Puzach's team, but Sven-Göran Eriksson's Benfica well and truly turned the tables in the return, Brito and Sergei Yuran both scoring twice in a 5-0 win.

Match background

Dynamo
• The Ukraine champions began their 16th group stage campaign on the wrong foot, conceding two first-half headers from Arkadiusz Milik to go down 2-1 at home to SSC Napoli. Denys Garmash had put the hosts ahead; Serhiy Sydorchuk was later sent off for two bookings.

• On matchday two 18-year-old Viktor Tsygankov scored his first UEFA Champions League goal just three minutes into his second competition appearance to earn a 1-1 draw at Beşiktaş JK.

• Before last season the Kyiv club had won only four of their 31 previous group stage fixtures. An improved campaign helped them add another three wins to that total as they reached the last 16 for the first time since 1999/2000.

• In the group stage they faced FC Porto, drawing 2-2 at home with Oleh Gusev and Vitaliy Buyalskiy on target. They won 2-0 away with an Andriy Yarmolenko penalty and Derlis González securing the victory.

• Dynamo have played 18 games against Portuguese sides with the record W6 D4 L8 (W3 D3 L3 in Ukraine).

Benfica
• The Eagles had one of their own players to blame for their inability to take all three points on matchday one. Talisca, loaned to Beşiktaş, earned the Turkish visitors a 1-1 draw in Lisbon.

• Their second fixture found Benfica on the wrong end of a scintillating attacking display at SSC Napoli, who took a 4-0 lead by the 58th minute. The Lisbon side made the scoreline respectable with two late goals.

• They won two of their five away matches in last season's competition, 2-1 at both Club Atlético de Madrid on matchday two and FC Zenit in the round of 16. They also drew at FC Astana and were knocked out by FC Bayern München in the quarter-finals (0-1 away, 2-2 home).

• Benfica have a good record in Ukraine, beating FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk 3-0 on their first visit to secure a 4-0 aggregate triumph in the 1989/90 European Champion Clubs' Cup quarter-finals.

• They also won 2-1 at FC Shakhtar Donetsk in the 2007/08 UEFA Champions League group stage and their overall record is P9 W5 D0 L4.

Coach and player links
• Growing up, Antunes supported Benfica; he was a product of SC Freamunde and also played for FC Paços de Ferreira (two spells) and Leixões SC. He faced Benfica on two occasions – losing 3-1 with Paços in 2006/07 and 4-0 with Leixões in 2009/10.

• Derlis González played for Benfica U19s in 2012/13.

• Júnior Moraes replaced Jonas to make his first appearance for FC Santos in 2007.

• Played together:
Eliseu & Antunes (Málaga CF, 2012–14)
Andreas Samaris & Antunes (Panionios GSS, 2011/12)

• International team-mates:
Eliseu, Rafa Silva, André Almeida, Pizzi & Antunes (Portugal)

Match facts

Dynamo
• Denys Garmash is a yellow card away from a one-match ban. Serhiy Sydorchuk is available after serving a one-game ban following his dismissal on matchday one.

• Dynamo have not drawn a home game in almost a year, winning 14 and losing five since their goalless stalemate against Chelsea FC on matchday three last season (20 October).

• Tsygankov, 18, had scored in each of Dynamo's last three games prior to Saturday's 1-1 draw at FC Chornomorets Odesa. The midfielder made his club debut in August and was named the Kyiv side's player of the month for September.

• Dynamo have lost three of their last four home fixtures.

• Andriy Yarmolenko scored one and set up another as Ukraine beat Kosovo 3-0 on 9 October in a European Qualifier played in Krakow, Poland. The 26-year-old has 28 goals and 16 assists in 65 caps for Ukraine.

• Champions the past two seasons, Dynamo are six points adrift of leaders FC Shakhtar Donetsk at the Ukrainian Premier League summit, their biggest deficit since 2013/14.

Benfica
• Benfica have won 18 of their last 19 matches in the Portuguese Liga, drawing the other.

• Fourteen of Benfica's 25 goals this season have come in the last 20 minutes of games.

• The Eagles have won their last 15 away Liga fixtures, a sequence that began on 2 January.

• Benfica have lost just one of their last 20 matches in all competitions, going down 4-2 at Napoli on matchday two.

• Benfica travelled to Brazil during the international break, taking on Santos FC in a friendly on 8 October to pay homage to Léo Bastos, who represented both clubs, and signal the 100th birthday of Santos's stadium, Vila Belmiro. The sides drew 1-1.

• Kostas Mitroglou (Greece 2-0 Cyprus), Victor Lindelöf (Sweden 3-0 Bulgaria) and Gonçalo Guedes (Liechtenstein U21s 1-7 Portugal U21s) were all on target last week.

• The following were also on international duty this month: Pizzi and Nélson Semedo (Portugal), Ljubomir Fejsa (Serbia), Alex Grimaldo (Spain U21s), Andrija Zivković (Serbia U21s).

• Rafa Silva has not played since sustaining a thigh injury on his debut at FC Arouca on 9 September.

• Andreas Samaris has not featured since suffering an ankle injury ahead of the 3-1 victory over SC Braga on 19 September.

• Former Barcelona youth player Alex Grimaldo, who had played every minute for Benfica in 2016/17 prior to Friday's 2-1 Portuguese Cup win at SU 1° Dezembro, scored his first goal for the club in the 4-0 victory over CD Feirense on 2 October. He picked up a knock on duty with Spain U21s last week.