Avoiding defeat against Benfica in the second-leg will be enough for Barcelona to book a place in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League.
Hansi Flick’s Barcelona secured a 1-0 win over SL Benfica in the first leg away from home. While it was not the best of results, they do have something to hold onto. The Catalan giants will certainly be confident that they can get the job done against the Portuguese giants in the second leg and advance to the next round.
The home team remain on top of La Liga despite the fact that their league fixture against Osasuna was postponed following the demise of their first-team doctor. While they are level on points with Real Madrid, the head-to-head record gives them the advantage.
The break will certainly help the players with their recovery, and they should be raring to go in this second leg. While the first leg was not an easy outing, it had a lot to do with the early red card that they picked up. As a result, there are chances of this fixture being a touch easier for them.
The visitors are second in Liga Portugal, and they are only three points behind Sporting CP with a game in hand. SL Benfica have been in scintillating form recently, and they are poised for a thrilling, down-to-the-wire title race.
After the hard-fought defeat against Barcelona, Benfica secured a 3-0 win over Nacional, which will certainly give them some confidence ahead of the second leg away from home. While it won’t be easy to take down the Blaugrana away from home, they will have to believe that they can cause an upset.
Pau Cubarsi’s red card had a massive say on how the first-leg went about. As a result, it will be interesting to see if Benfica can be that competitive when they go up against a full-strength Barcelona XI. The Hard Tackle takes a close look at both teams and tries to predict the tactics they could deploy.
Team News & Tactics
Barcelona
Andreas Christensen, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, and Marc Bernal remain on the sidelines. Meanwhile, Pau Cubarsi is suspended following the red card in the first leg.
Robert Lewandowski was left out of the squad for their league outing against Osasuna, which was later suspended, but he is still expected to be available for this one. Gavi has recovered from illness and could start on the bench in this fixture.
Hansi Flick will stick to the 4-2-3-1 formation, where Wojciech Szczesny will continue in goal. The back four will be made up of Jules Kounde, Inigo Martínez, Ronald Araujo and Alejandro Balde.
As for the midfield unit, Pedri and Frenkie de Jong should form the double pivot in the middle of the park. They will look to control the tempo of the game. Dani Olmo should take up the number ten role, while Lamine Yamal and Raphinha will continue on the flanks. Robert Lewandowski should lead the line for Barcelona against SL Benfica.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Szczesny; Kounde, Araujo, Martinez, Balde; De Jong, Pedri; Yamal, Olmo, Raphinha; Lewandowski
SL Benfica
The visitors remain without the services of Angel Di Maria, Alexander Bah, Manu Silva, and Tiago Gouveia. Tomas Araujo’s availability is in doubt, while Alvaro Carreras is suspended following a milestone yellow in the first leg.
Benfica will certainly make a few changes to the XI that started in their last outing, as a few of their stars were rested with an eye on this big UEFA Champions League fixture. They will stick to the 4-3-3 formation, where Anatoliy Trubin will be in goal. Leandro Santos and Samuel Dahl could be the full-backs, while Antonio Silva will partner with Nicolas Otamendi at the heart of the defence.
The midfield trifecta will be made up of Orkun Kokcu, Fredrik Aursnes and Leandro Barreiro. They will look to ensure Barcelona do not end up dominating the ball too deep in their half. Kerem Akturkoglu and Andreas Schjelderup will feature on the flanks, providing width to their attacks. Vangelis Pavlidis should start up top for the away team.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Trubin; Santos, Silva, Otamendi, Dahl; Aursnes, Barreiro, Kokcu; Akturkoglu, Schjelderup, Pavlidis
Key Stats
- Barcelona are looking to secure a quarter-finals berth in consecutive UEFA Champions League campaigns, while Benfica are looking to make it to the last eight for the third time in four seasons.
- The two teams have squared up against each other on 11 occasions, and the Blaugrana have won five of those meetings.
- Prior to the first leg, Barcelona and SL Benfica met during the league phase, where Hansi Flick’s men won 5-4.
- Barcelona have won five out of their last seven home games.
- Benfica have never won an away game against Barcelona (D2 L2).
Player to Watch
Lamine Yamal
Yamal has 27 goal contributions in his 36 outings. At the age of just 17, those are exceptional numbers, but personally, he won’t be pleased with the fact that only four of those goal contributions have come in the UEFA Champions League. The Spanish international will certainly be eager to add to his tally against Benfica, and he could be the biggest threat for them from the right flank.
Prediction
Barcelona 2-0 SL Benfica
A first-half red card to Pau Cubarsi gave Benfica an opportunity to cause an upset during the first leg, but they could not capitalise on the chance. Barcelona already have a goal advantage heading into the second leg, and given the kind of form they have been in, it should be a problem for them to go past the Portuguese outfit. The Hard Tackle predicts a 2-0 win for the home team.
