Benetton vs Scarlets Prediction: Expect a low-scoring encounter

At Stadio Comunale Monigo, Benetton will play Scarlets in the round 1 encounter of the United Rugby Championship. In their previous meeting, the Scarlets won at home in a 16-13 encounter. Can Benetton, at home and favorites, get a revenge win?

Benetton will eye for a strong performance this season after not making it past the playoffs quarterfinal the previous season. This team accumulated 54 points in the regular season from 18 matches, scoring 411 goals while conceding 400. In the meantime, they lost to the Bulls in the playoffs in a 30-23 encounter. In the meantime, the home team's run of matches into this game saw them win two and lose three.

Scarlets will eye a spot in the playoff this season after finishing 13th the previous season. In 27 matches, this team accumulated 27 points, scoring 313 goals while conceding 575. In the meantime, Scarlets head into the new season with consecutive league wins, coming against Zebre and Dragons, games that ended 18-32 and 32-15. However, the visiting last six matches saw them lose four, coming against Glasgow Warriors, Edinburgh, Sharks, and Ulster. 

Home turf advantage will be a huge factor in this fixture, and it is tough to see Scarlets win. The previous season, despite defeating Benetton, we saw few strong performances from Scarlets, and in this game, it is tough to trust them on the road in an opener. This should not be an easy encounter for Benetton at home either, but as the better side, I expect them to win fairly. Also, this should be a low-scoring encounter, with the two sides not too good offensively.