Chasing automatic qualification for the Champions League's last 16, Benfica will aim to beat winless Bologna when the teams convene in Lisbon on Wednesday evening.、

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Scoring twice in the final six minutes of an enthralling encounter with Monaco, Benfica snatched a 3-2 victory from the jaws of defeat last month, moving the Portuguese giants onto nine points in the league phase table.

Taking advantage of their hosts going down to 10 men, Bruno Lage's side turned things around thanks to late goals from Arthur Cabral and Zeki Amdouni, which followed an earlier strike from Vangelis Pavlidis - only three teams have had more different scorers in this season's Champions League.

Lage has also recorded eight wins from as many league matches since taking charge in September - following a 1-0 home win over Vitoria SC on Saturday - and his second spell at Estadio da Luz has started spectacularly.

Surging to within two points of city rivals Sporting CP in the Primeira Liga standings, Benfica have won all of their last 11 domestic fixtures and are unbeaten in 14 since the opening day of the season.

Having revived an inconsistent squad and found a winning formula, he is now intent on wrapping up at least a Champions League playoff place, which victory on Wednesday would effectively achieve - finishing in the top eight is still possible too.

However, Benfica have won just one of their last six home matches in Europe's top club competition, after following up a fine 4-0 win over Atletico Madrid on the second matchday with a 3-1 loss to Feyenoord.

While Benfica are seasoned campaigners in continental competition, Bologna are Champions League rookies, now facing their first game against Portuguese opponents since September 1998, when they beat Sporting 2-0 in the UEFA Cup.

The Rossoblu's league-phase debut began with a goalless draw at home to Shakhtar Donetsk, but they have been defeated four times since - and they had to wait until last month's 2-1 loss to Lille to score their first goal.

As well as being Bologna's sole scorer to date, Colombian defender Jhon Lucumi has also made the most interceptions, completed the most passes, made the most clearances and won the most aerial duels for his side, drawing interest from clubs higher up the food chain.

His attacking colleagues have come up short, though, and now in need of three wins from their final three games, Vincenzo Italiano's men must be more ruthless in front of goal.

The only team yet to find the net from open play - failing to convert any of 41 attempts on goal - Bologna have already suffered 2-0 defeats at Liverpool and Aston Villa, so they could become the eighth different club to lose their first three Champions League away games without scoring.

On the domestic scene, they have recently shown signs of improvement after a slow start to Italiano's reign, edging up to eighth place in Serie A and advancing to the Coppa Italia quarter-finals.

On Saturday, the Emilian side let a two-goal lead slip through their fingers in Turin, costing them a rare win over Juventus side managed by their former boss Thiago Motta, who was sent off before Juve produced a late fightback.

After Dan Ndoye and Tommaso Pobega scored to put Bologna in control, they ultimately conceded a 92nd-minute equaliser - consigning them to an eighth draw in 20 games this season.

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