Football
Champions League Round of 16: Benfica vs Barcelona – Preview, Team News, Lineup, Head-to-Head, and Prediction
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Portuguese powerhouse SL Benfica will cross paths with La Liga giants Barcelona for the second time this season when they host them at the Estadio da Luz for the first leg of the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 on 5th March.
The two teams played out a nine-goal thriller in their league-phase meeting, with Raphinha scoring in the sixth minute of injury time to seal a memorable 5-4 win for the Catalans.
Champions League Round of 16: Benfica vs Barcelona – Preview
Benfica
Bruno Lage’s Benfica struggled to play their best football in the league phase of the 2024-25 Champions League season. They amassed 13 points from eight games, recording four wins, one draw, and three defeats. They finished in 16th place in the rankings and had to compete in a gruelling two-legged playoff to qualify for the Round of 16. AS Monaco put up a great fight, but Benfica ultimately came out on top, sealing a 4-3 aggregate victory.
The Eagles are coming into Wednesday’s European showdown in good spirits, having beaten Braga 1-0 in the Taca de Portugal quarter-finals in their previous outing.
Barcelona
Barcelona, meanwhile, were in blistering form in the league phase. They played with confidence and authority, picking up 19 points from eight matches (6 W, 1 D, 1 L) to finish second in the rankings. Only Premier League frontrunners Liverpool picked up more points than the Blaugrana (21).
Hansi Flick’s men have also bounced back in La Liga. Making the most of Real Madrid’s recent dip in form, the Catalans have claimed the top spot in the rankings. They are sitting one point ahead of second-placed Atletico Madrid and have a three-point lead over Los Blancos.
The La Liga leaders showcased irable flamboyance in their previous outing, claiming a thumping 4-0 victory over Real Sociedad at home.
Benfica vs Barcelona: Team News, Potential Lineup, and Head-to-Head
Benfica
Lage has quite a few absentees to deal with this week, with midfield maestro Florentino (thigh), Alexander Bah (ACL), Manu Silva (ACL), Renato Sanches (muscle), Angel Di Maria (muscle), and Tiago Gouveia (knee) all missing out.
Potential lineup: Trubin; Araujo, Silva, Otamendi, Carreras; Kokcu, Barreiro, Aursnes; Akturkoglu, Pavlidis, Bruma
Barcelona
The visitors, meanwhile, will have to make do without Andreas Christensen (calf) in addition to ACL victims Marc Bernal and Marc-Andre ter Stegen. Midfield dynamite Gavi, however, is likely to return to action this week after sitting out the Sociedad clash due to illness.
Potential lineup: Szczesny; Kounde, Cubarsi, Araujo, Balde; Pedri, De Jong; Yamal, Raphinha, Gavi; Lewandowski
Head-to-Head
Benfica and Barcelona have faced each other 10 times in Europe. The former has won two games, the latter four, while four matches have ended all square.
Benfica vs Barcelona: Prediction
Barcelona will start the game as favourites. However, at home, Benfica are also very much in the contest.
We expect a frantic, open-ended game, with Barca ultimately getting the win.
Our prediction: Benfica 1-3 Barcelona