Benfica vs Barça: Preview
Barça travel to Lisbon for a very tough road game looking for a crucial European win
SL Benfica (15th, 10pts) vs FC Barcelona (2nd, 15pts)*
*Standings at beginning of Matchday 7
Competition/Round: 2024-25 UEFA Champions League, League Phase, Matchday 7
Barcelona Outs & Doubts: Marc-André ter Stegen, Iñigo Martínez, Dani Olmo, Marc Bernal (out)
Benfica Outs & Doubts: Renato Sanches (out), Ángel Di María, Tiago Gouveia (doubt)
Date/Time: Tuesday, January 21, 2025, 9pm CET/WAT (Barcelona & Nigeria), 8pm GMT (UK), 3pm ET, 12pm PT (USA), 1.30am IST (India, Wednesday)
Venue: Estádio da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal
Referee: Danny Makkelie (NED)
VAR: Rob Dieperink (NED)
How to watch on TV: TUDN (USA), TNT Sports 1 (UK), SuperSport (Nigeria), Movistar (Spain), others
How to watch online: Paramount+ (USA), discovery+ (UK), Movistar+ (Spain), Sony LIV (India), others
Following a frustrating draw away to Getafe at the weekend in La Liga action, Barcelona make the short trip to the capital city of Portugal for a monster Champions League clash with Benfica at the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon on Tuesday night.
Barça will play their final two League Phase matches over the next two weeks, and after a fantastic beginning to the campaign the Blaugrana are now just four points away from automatic qualification for the Round of 16, which is a must to avoid playing two extra playoff games in what already is a very busy schedule.
But a victory on Tuesday might already be enough to get the job done given Barça’s excellent goal difference, and if they can increase it by another two or three goals it’ll be impossible to keep them outside of the Top 8 even if they lose to Atalanta at home next week.
This is essentially the game that decides Barça’s next steps in Europe, and they will undoubtedly be hungry to shake off the frustration from the trip to Getafe and get another big continental win on the road.
That doesn’t mean it’ll be easy, however. Benfica are one of those teams who always fly under their radar in the usual discourse but absolutely deserve to be talked about as one of the most difficult sides to beat in Europe, especially in front of their amazing home crowd. Manager Bruno Lage is coaching an aggressive, high-pressing, high-intensity, high-scoring side that is fighting for the Portuguese league title and still have an outside shot at a Top 8 finish.
Barça have certainly been at their best in Europe this season, and will be favorites to win this one. But they are not giant favorites. Benfica will be tough, well-organized, and are not afraid of anyone at home, and the Catalans need to be their most devastating version to leave Lisbon with all three points.
Let’s dance.
POSSIBLE LINEUPS
Barcelona (4-3-3): Szczesny; Kounde, Araujo, Cubarsí, Balde; Gavi, Casadó, Pedri; Yamal, Lewandowski, Raphinha
Benfica (4-2-3-1): Trubin; Araújo, Otamendi, Silva, Carreras; Florentino, Aursnes; Aktürkoğlu, Kökçü, Schjelderup; Pavlidis
PREDICTION
Anyone thinking Barça will cruise to an easy win have no idea just how good this Benfica team is and just how tough they are to beat at home. I’ll still bet on the good guys, but this will be a real battle: 2-1 Barça.
Source: barcablaugranes.com
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