Barcelona must overcome SL Benfica to secure a spot in the Champions League quarter-finals as they aim to end their ten-year European drought.
After producing a nine-goal thriller in the league stage, SL Benfica and Barcelona met again in the round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League. The Catalan giants will hit the road to face the Portuguese giants at the Estadio da Luz on Wednesday night.
The home team have slowly caught up to Sporting CP, and they will certainly challenge them until the end for the league title. As far as their Champions League journey is concerned, Benfica finished 16th on the table and had to go up against AS Monaco in the playoffs to make it this far in the competition.
They secured a hard-fought 4-3 win on aggregate to knock the French giants out of the competition and set up a round of 16 tie with Barcelona. While Benfica are heading into the first-leg on the back of consecutive wins and they are playing at home, they still won’t find it easy against one of the biggest clubs in the world.
Barcelona last won the Champions League back in 2015, and given the kind of performances they have put up so far, they certainly have a chance of ending their decade long drought for Europe’s biggest silverware. The Blaugrana finished second in the league phase to book a direct spot in the round of 16.
Having recently reclaimed the top spot in La Liga, the Catalan giants will be confident that they can now once again assert their dominance in the Champions League. They are heading into this fixture on the back of a massive 4-0 win over Real Sociedad and should not really have any trouble taking down Benfica.
The two teams met earlier in the season, and Barcelona were able to secure a 5-4 back then. Hansi Flick’s men scripted an incredible comeback to secure all three points back then, and they will hope it does not get that complicated this time around. The Hard Tackle takes a close look at both teams and tries to predict the tactics they could deploy.
Team News & Tactics
SL Benfica
While Florentino Luis is back from suspension, he will sit out of this fixture because of a thigh injury. He has joined Alexander Bah, Manu Silva, Tiago Gouveia, Renato Sanches and former Real Madrid star Angel Di Maria on the sidelines.
With a few of the stars out injured, Benfica could shift to a back four for this fixture. They could line up in a 4-3-3, where Anatoliy Trubin will be in goal. Tomas Araujo and Alvaro Carreras will feature as the full-backs, while Nicolas Otamendi will partner with Antonio Silva in central defence.
In the centre of the park, Orkun Kokcu will start alongside Fredrik Aursnes and Leandro Barreiro. The trio will look to ensure Barcelona midfielder do not end up dominating the proceedings. Kerem Akturkoglu and Bruma will feature on the flanks, providing much-needed width to their attacks. Meanwhile, Vangelis Pavlidis will spearhead the Benfica attack against Barcelona.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Trubin; Araujo, Otamendi, Silva, Carreras; Kokcu, Barreiro, Aursnes; Akturkoglu, Pavlidis, Bruma
Barcelona
While Gavi did not start in Barcelona’s last outing because of illness, he should be back in the XI against SL Benfica. Meanwhile, Andreas Christensen has suffered a new calf injury, and he has once again joined Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Marc Bernal on the sidelines.
Apart from the three, Flick has all his stars available for this fixture. He will stick to the 4-2-3-1 formation, where Wojciech Szczesny will continue in goal. Jules Kounde and Alejandro Balde should continue as their full-backs. In the heart of the defence, Ronald Araujo should partner with Pau Cubarsi.
The back four will be aiming for a clean sheet away from home in the first leg, and they will receive significant support from Pedri and Frenkie de Jong, who will form the double pivot in midfield.
Gavi will take up the number ten role, while the in-form duo of Lamine Yamal and Raphinha will feature on the flanks. Finally, star striker Robert Lewandowski will continue to lead the line for Barcelona when they take on SL Benfica on Wednesday.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Szczesny; Kounde, Araujo, Cubarsi, Balde; Pedri, De Jong; Yamal, Gavi, Raphinha; Lewandowski
Key Stats
- Barcelona and Benfica met earlier in the season, with the Blaugrana winning 5-4.
- The Catalan giants have won four out of the 10 UEFA Champions League games between the two teams, while Benfica only have two wins to their name.
- Benfica have faced Barcelona the second most times in their Champions League history, with ten meetings.
- While the Portuguese outfit won two out of their first three European home games against Spanish opposition, they have only won two out of their last 12.
- The Blaugrana have lost only one out of their last ten away games against Portuguese opposition.
Player to Watch
Raphinha
Raphinha is certainly enjoying the season of his life with 42 goal contributions (24 goals, 18 assists) in his 39 outings across competitions. The Brazilian international has a total of 12 goal contributions in the Champions League and is chasing a national record.
Only Kaka (13 in 2006/07) and Roberto Firmino (17 in 2017/18) are Brazilians who have a better goal contribution record in the UEFA Champions League in a single campaign. Given the kind of form he has been in, the 28-year-old will certainly have a big say on the end result of this tie.
Prediction
SL Benfica 1-3 Barcelona
While Benfica did put up a strong fight against Barcelona when the two teams met in the league phase, they are without a lot of firepower in the first leg and might not be able to put up a similar performance. Given the kind of form the Blaugrana have been in, they should come out on top without much difficulty. The Hard Tackle predicts a 3-1 win for Hansi Flick and his charges.
