Benfica vs Barcelona Prediction, Preview, Predicted Lineups and Team News | UEFA Champions League

Benfica Vs Barcelona Preview

Tournament: UEFA Champions League

Date: Wednesday, March 5

Kick-off time: 20:00 GMT

Venue: Estadio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica

Benfica are set to lock horns with Barcelona in the 1st leg of the UEFA Champions League round of 16 clash on Thursday at the iconic Estadio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica Stadium. The home side will be looking for revenge after the visitors hammered them 5-4 at their home ground in the most recent encounter.

Benfica have been in great form recently remaining unbeaten in their last eight matches with seven wins and one draw. This run of good form has seen them close the gap at the top as they are three points shy of leaders Sporting CP with one game in hand. Bruno Lage's side got the better of Monaco in the round of 32 tie as they won 4-3 aggregate to secure their place in the round of 16. Lately, they have been pretty good defensively keeping four clean sheets, while registering four wins in their last five matches in all competitions, which shows the form they are in at the moment. Vangelis Pavlidis leads the goalscoring chart with eight goals and Kerem Akturkoglu provides six assists the most in the team.

Barcelona, on the other hand, are tormenting La Liga with its incredible free-flowing attacking football. The Blaugrana are back at the top of the table maintaining a narrow one-point lead over both Madrid clubs. They have won their last five consecutive matches in a row in the league, which has seen them leapfrog their rivals at the top. Hansi Flick's side finished second in the league stage of this competition accumulating 19 points from eight matches winning six, drawing one, and losing once. In the last match, they hammered Real Sociedad by 4-0 to continue their winning run. Much of their success has been due to the form of Robert Lewandowski, who leads the goalscoring charts with 21 goals, with Lamine Yamal providing the most assists(11).

Benfica Team News

The home team have a couple of injury concerns in their ranks. Alexander Bah and Tiago Gouveia are confirmed absentees for this clash due to cruciate ligament and shoulder injury respectively. Also, Bruno Lage has a couple of crucial decisions to make with the likes of Angel Di Maria, Florentino Luis and Renato Sanches who are in major doubt for participation in this match as they mark their return from injuries.

Barcelona Team News

Hansi Flick's side also have three injury concerns in their squad. The pair of Marc Bernal and Marc-Andre ter Stegen are out of the season after suffering a cruciate ligament injury while Andreas Christensen is another who suffered a blow in his return from injury with no such time frame made of his return.

Benfica vs Barcelona Predicted Lineups

Benfica predicted lineup(4-1-2-3):

Goalkeeper: Trubin

Defenders: Araujo, Silva, Otamendi, Carreras

Midfielders: Barreiro, Aursnes, Kokcu

Attackers: Arturkoglu, Pavlidis, Schjelderup

Barcelona predicted lineup(4-2-3-1):

Goalkeeper: Szczesny

Defenders: Kounde, Araujo, Cubarsi, Balde

Midfielders: Pedri, de Jong

Attackers: Yamal, Gavi, Raphinha; Lewandowski

Benfica vs Barcelona H2H Record

Benfica have performed well against Barcelona in recent encounters with the team winning one, drawing two, and losing two against the Spanish Giants. All these matches were eye-catching to watch with exciting players on each side.

Key Players to watch in Benfica vs Barcelona

Vangelis Pavlidis(Benfica)

The top scorer for Benfica this season has been nothing short of sensational this term. Pavlidis has eight goals to his name in the league in 23 appearances but has an impressive record in this competition with seven goals in ten matches while also adding another two assists. He has already destroyed Barcelona in the league phase by scoring a wonderful hat-trick against them in the 4-5 thrilling loss. In his last five matches with the club, Pavlidis has already found the back of the net four times and will be again crucial here against the same opponent.

Robert Lewandowski(Barcelona)

Robert Lewandowski gets the nod here over Raphinha and Lamine Yamal due to his experience of stepping out in big matches. He is having a wonderful season with Barcelona leading the goalscoring charts with 21 goals for both club and La Liga. Lewandowski is known for his clinical finishing and movements, has scored four goals in his last five matches with an xG of 1.1, having also scored a brace against the same opponent in the League Stage. His partnership with the other two strikers has been a treat to watch so far as they aim to lift this trophy this time around.

Benfica vs Barcelona Prediction

This game is going to be an interesting one as we witness two attacking sides battle in 1st leg action of this competition. Both teams are heading into this match in excellent form, which makes this match even more exciting considering the thrilling 5-4 goal thriller they had in the recent meeting. We expect Barcelona to secure a close victory over them considering their recent record against the home team and the plethora of talents at their disposal.

Predicted Score: Benfica 2-3 Barcelona

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