Benfica host Barcelona in the first leg of their round of 16 UEFA Champions League clash, with a place in the quarter finals of the competition at stake.
This matchup comes just six weeks on from an incredible nine goal thriller at the Estádio da Luz which saw Barcelona snatch the victory in the dying embers of the game, with Brazilian winger Raphinha scoring the winner. That goal meant that Barcelona cemented their status as a seeded side in the knockouts whilst Benfica had to come through the play off round to get to this stage of the competition, defeating Monaco 4-3 on aggregate.
Team News
Benfica –
Benfica have suffered a major setback for this fixture, with the absence of key duo Angel Di Maria and Florentino Luis. Manager Bruno Lage was hopeful he would have at least one of the two available to face Barcelona however it has been widely reported both will miss out.
Alexander Bah and Manu Silva remain out with long term injuries. Renato Sanches and Tiago Gouveia also miss out.
Bruma also misses out through suspension.
Barcelona –
Going into this fixture there were question marks over the fitness of both Gavi and Ansu Fati for FC Barcelona however BOTH players have been included in Hansi Flick’s travelling squad, a huge boost for the Blaugrana.
Marc Bernal, Andreas Christensen and Marc Andre Ter Stergen are all still ruled out with longer term injuries.
Predicted Lineups –
Barcelona (4-2-3-1) – Szczesny (GK), Kounde, Curbasi, Inigo, Balde; De Jong, Pedri, Yamal, Olmo, Raphinha; Lewandowski
Benfica (4-3-3) – Trubin (GK), Araujo, A.Silva, Otamendi, Carreras; Aursnes, Barreiro, Kokcu; Akturtoglu, Pavlidis, Dahl
Other Information
This match will kick off at 20:00 (8PM)
This match is available to stream on TNT Sports.
Match Officials –
Referee – Felix Dwayer (GER) Assistant Referees – Robert Kempter (GER), Christian Dietz (GER) Fourth Official – Florian Badstübner (GER) VAR – Bastian Dankert (GER) AVAR – Willy Delajod (FRA)
