The last battle between the two sides ended in a high-scoring contest. We expect this UCL round of 16 battle between Barcelona and Benfica to end in a draw.
Match info: Champions League
Venue: Estadio da Luz, Lisbon
Date: Wednesday, 5th March 2025
Time: 9 pm Nigerian time
With a lot to live up to following a nine-goal extravaganza in the league phase, Benfica and Barcelona cross paths once again on Wednesday night in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 battle at the Estadio da Luz.
The Portuguese giants eked out a 4-3 aggregate success over Monaco in the playoffs to earn another date with the Blaugrana, who were only out-performed by Liverpool in the first stage.
Head-to-head:
- Benfica have won 2 of the 10 UEFA Champions League meetings between the two teams.
- Barcelona recorded 2 victories.
- The remaining 4 clashes ended in draws.
- Their game in the group phase, Barcelona won 5-4.
- Their game this season was their only encounter without a clean sheet.
- All their draws were goalless.
- Benfica won two of their first three home games against Spanish sides in European competition.
Form:
- Benfica in the Champions League: D-L-W-W-D
- Benfica in all competitions: W-W-D-W-W
- Barcelona in the Champions League: W-W-W-W-D
- Barcelona in all competitions: W-W-W-D-W
Team News:
- Angel Di Maria, Alexander Bah, and three more players will not be in action for Benfica due to injuries.
- Barcelona will be without the services of Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Andreas Christensen, and Marc Bernal as they are injured.
Player(s) to watch:
- Vangelis Pavlidis is going to play a major role up front. The Greece forward is the top marksman for Benfica in the UEFA Champions League this season. Due to the absence of Angel Di Maria, Pavlidis will be under pressure and this could be the right time for him to perform on this big stage.
- Robert Lewandowski is in good form and has scored nine goals in eight UCL matches this season. Robert Lewandowski has scored four goals in the last five matches across all competitions. He will be a big danger to the opponent’s defence with his flying form.