FC Barcelona welcomes Benfica Lisbon this Tuesday at the Montjuic stadium on behalf of the knockout stages of the Champions League. Winners at 1-0 go, the Blaugrana have reasons to be wary of the LisBoets.
Barcelona is 90 minutes from a qualification for the quarter -finals, but nothing has yet been played. 1-0 winners to go to Portugal despite a numerical inferiority for more than an hour, the Blaugrana must now finish the work at the Olympic stadium Lluis Companys against a Revanchard Benfica. The Catalan club tackles this match in a particular emotional context, after the postponement of their championship meeting this weekend following the sudden death of Doctor Carles Minarro Garcia. A tragedy that marked the whole locker room, as Joan Laporta pointed out, evoking a club ” in shock “. The midfielder Pedri wrote on his Instagram account “I still can’t believe it, I kiss the family and friends of Carles very hard.” Despite this, Flick and his men have no choice but to focus on this European objective, with the desire to extend their invincibility which now extends to 16 games.
A pragmatic barça at home
By winning against Benfica in the first leg, Barcelona demonstrated his solidity despite an unfavorable scenario (the Catalan club played 67 minutes at 10 against 11). The key role of Wojciech Szczesny, author of eight decisive stops, and Raphinha’s realism allowed the Catalans to leave with a precious advantage. Now, a simple management would be enough for them, but at home, the Blaugrana do not intend to be content to undergo. Evidenced by their recent balance sheet at the Olympic stadium: five victories in their last seven receptions, including a brilliant 4-0 against Real Sociedad. History also pleads in their favor: Benfica has never imposed itself in four trips on the field of Barça in the Champions League, remaining silent during the last three confrontations.
Apart from the absences of Christensen (man -injured in the calf) and Cubarsi (suspended), the German coach of the Blaugrana will be able to count this Tuesday on all of his workforce. Questioned yesterday at a press conference on how his team will address this return match, Flick swept away any work idea already done “The best thing to do for us is 100% concentrated and not to think about the first leg. They press high in the field, they do it very well and they have won many matches outside. We must be aware of it. During this morning’s discussion, we showed the good and bad sides of the first leg. No one thinks that work is done on our side“.
Benfica in front of his biggest challenge
Lisboets feed regrets after the outward journey, unable to capitalize on the rapid exclusion of Pau Cubarsí. But they knew how to bounce back in the league with a clear victory against Nacional (3-0), confirming their offensive form of the moment. In full fight with Sporting for the title in Portugal, Bruno Lage’s men must now succeed in a feat in Spain and their coach is the first to believe in this possible miracle ” We have to capitalize on what we have done against a large team from Barça to go. We go to Barcelona to win, to go to the next round. This is the message we made in the locker room. We are going to play our game and try to qualify. The team is in good shape and there is a great spirit of unity in the locker room “.
Despite a cascade of injuries on the side of Benfica (Bah, Di Maria, Manu Silva, Tiago Gouveia) and the absence of a crossroads for suspension, Lage remains optimistic and feels his team capable of creating the feat. The story is not on the Portuguese club side which has lost five of its last six eighth rounds after a defeat on the outward journey and displays a mediocre assessment on Spanish soil (2 victories in 13 games). However, their recent dynamics in the outside Champions League (three consecutive victories) offers them thin hope. It remains to be seen if that will be enough against a barça determined to find the European peaks.
What time will the meeting take place?
The match between FC Barcelona and Benfica Lisbon who will be led by the French referee François Letexier will start at 6.45 p.m. on Tuesday at the Olympic stadium Lluis Companys.
On which TV channel is broadcast Barcelona – Benfica?
The meeting will be broadcast live and in full on Canal+ Foot.
What streaming broadcast for the match?
You can follow the meeting in streaming via the MyCanal application.
Possible compositions
The probable composition of Barcelona: Szczęsny – Koundé, Eric García, Iñigo Martínez, Balde – De Jong, Pedri, Yamal, Olmo, Raphinha – Lewandowski
Benfica’s probable composition: Trubin – Araujo, Antonio Silva, Otamendi, Dahl – Barreiro, Aursnes, Kokcu, Akturkoglu, Schjelderup, Pavlidis
Probable ribs
The big side is to be found on the side of Benfica for this eighth round return.
Betclic: Barcelona 1,36 / zero 5.85 / Benfica 6.95
Unibet: Barcelona 1,37 / zero 5.80 / Benfica 6.90
Winamax: Barcelona 1,38 / zer 5.70 / Benfica 7.00
Sport betons: Barcelona 1.35 / zero 5.90 / Benfica 7.10