Barcelona will aim to post their sixth Champions League victory in seven matches this season when they take on Portuguese giants Benfica in Lisbon on Tuesday night.
Hansi Flick's side are currently second in the Champions League table, boasting 15 points from their opening six matches, while Benfica are 15th, having picked up 10 points from their six matches in this season's league phase.
Match preview
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Benfica have won three, drawn one and lost two of their six matches in this season's Champions League, with 10 points leaving them in 15th spot, which is enough, at this moment, to make the playoff round.
The Lisbon giants are only three points behind eighth-placed Lille, though, in the race to secure automatic qualification for the next round, so a victory in this contest would do an awful lot for their chances of making the top eight.
Bruno Lage's side will bring a four-game winning run into this match, including a 4-0 success over Famalicao in Portugal's top flight on Friday, and they currently sit second in the Primeira Liga table, three points behind the leaders Sporting Lisbon.
Benfica have won two of their previous nine matches against Barcelona, including the final of the 1961 European Cup, but their only success since then was a 3-0 victory during the group stage of the 2021-22 Champions League.
The Eagles have won four, drawn five and lost five of their previous 14 matches at home to Spanish opposition in Europe, with one of those successes coming this season, beating Atletico Madrid 4-0 on matchday two.
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Barcelona have just won the Spanish Super Cup and are through to the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey, but they are on their worst run of form in La Liga for 17 years, having triumphed in just one of their last eight matches in the competition.
Flick's side are off the pace in the La Liga table, currently sitting third, seven points behind the leaders Real Madrid, but the Catalan giants are in an excellent spot when it comes to making the next round of the Champions League.
Indeed, Barcelona have won five and lost one of their six matches in the league phase to collect 15 points, which has left them in second spot in the table, three points behind leaders Liverpool and crucially three clear of Borussia Dortmund in ninth.
Blaugrana have won six, drawn three and lost five of their previous 14 away matches against Portuguese clubs in Europe, but their only success away to Benfica came during the group stage of the 2012-13 Champions League.
Barcelona are in an excellent position when it comes to making the knockout stage of the competition, but a poor result here would leave them in an uncertain position ahead of their final game in the league phase at home to Atalanta BC on January 29.
Team News
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Benfica will be missing Tiago Gouveia and Renato Sanches through injury, while Angel Di Maria is also a major doubt, but the home side are otherwise in good shape for their contest with Barcelona.
Di Maria's absence would be a big one considering that he has scored 13 goals and registered seven assists in 27 appearances this season, but there is still hope that the Argentine could make the bench.
Kerem Akturkoglu has also impressed, managing 10 goals and seven assists, and the 26-year-old is a certain starter for Benfica here, while Vangelis Pavlidis is set to lead the line for the hosts.
As for Barcelona, Dani Olmo is a fresh injury blow for the Catalan outfit, with the Spain international suffering a muscular problem during the team's 1-1 draw with Getafe in La Liga on Saturday night.
Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Marc Bernal and Inigo Martinez will are also absent for Barcelona in Portugal, but Marc Casado is fit, with his substitution against Getafe last time out proving to be a tactical call.
Head coach Flick could name an unchanged side for this contest, with Gavi again expected to operate in the number 10 position, while Ferran Torres and Frenkie de Jong are set to be named among the substitutes.
Benfica possible starting lineup:
Trubin; Bah, Araujo, Otamendi, Fernandez; Aursnes, Florentino, Kokcu; Amdouni, Pavlidis, Akturkoglu
Barcelona possible starting lineup:
Pena; Kounde, Araujo, Cubarsi, Balde; Casado, Pedri; Yamal, Gavi, Raphinha; Lewandowski
We say: Benfica 1-1 Barcelona
This is such a tough game to call, as Barcelona have been impressive in Europe this season, but Benfica are a classy outfit and certainly have the players to harm the Catalan giants; it would not be a shock to see a home or an away win on Tuesday, but we just have a feeling that a tight match will end with the points being shared.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
