Brugge play at home against Benfica on Wednesday 15 February. This is one of the most unexpected pairings in the Champions League. The Portuguese club won their group, although they had PSG and Juventus. Brugge managed to beat Atletico. The Portuguese eagles are the clear favourites for the pairing. The team is having an outstanding season under new coach Roger Schmidt. The club is in first place in the championship with a large margin over Porto. Out of seventeen meetings, only three have failed to win. The goal difference is impressive: 51:12. During the winter, Benfica traditionally tried to be taken apart by the top clubs. Only in the case of Enzo Fernandes did it work. Benfica sold the midfield leader to Chelsea. It's a loss, but not a fatal one. Benfica managed to lure attacking midfielder Gonzalo Gedes into their ranks over the winter. The player had excellent statistics in the Spanish league last season. This is an unqualified reinforcement of the attacking line. Gonçalo Ramos is also still in action. Ronaldo's replacement in the Portuguese national team will enter the Champions League with a special attitude. One of the main revelations of the season is midfielder Joao Mariu. The former Lokomotiv player scored 12 league goals. He is the top scorer in the Portuguese league. Before the Champions League, Benfica suffered an upset defeat in the Portuguese Cup. They lost to Braga on penalties. At the same time, the benchmark is roughly clear. Benfica will focus on the Champions League. There is a historic chance of getting very far. The best coach in recent years, a great deep squad, plenty of experience of successful matches against top clubs. Brugge look like a casual play-off contender. The team played well in a few games, but did not prove their achievements even at Belgian championship level. As a result, the club announced the resignation of coach Karl Hufkens just before the New Year holidays. It was with him that the historic results in the Champions League were achieved. Now the Englishman Scott Parker is in charge of the club. That's not to say that Brugge have had a breakthrough in results. The club is far from dominating even in their own league. In the last five meetings there are four draws. There is no question of any fight for the title. Bruges is at risk of not being able to play in the European competitions, sitting in fourth place. There are no large number of injured players, but the attacking quality has weakened. The club cannot count on two forwards, Skov Olsen and Ferran Juttla. They have fifteen goals to their credit this season. By all accounts, the Belgians look weaker than their opponents, even at home. The team is in a rebuilding phase and has already jumped over the top. There's some productive football going on, but with a predictable scenario.