Barcelona travel to Lisbon for the second time in the space of six weeks as they face Benfica in the Champions League round of 16.
Barcelona had an impressive 5-4 win that took them to second place in the league, avoiding the play-off round. Meanwhile, Benfica had a tougher time, needing to play two extra games and facing a scare from Ligue 1 Monaco despite winning the away match 1-0.
The hosts have had plenty of time off given that their recent Primeira Liga duel with Gli Vicente was postponed. They were last in action on February 26 when they beat Braga 1-0.
Barcelona didn’t enjoy such a luxury at the weekend, but they did produce an emphatic 4-0 victory over Real Sociedad which ensured they remained at the summit of La Liga. Hansi Flick’s side stuttered towards the end of 2024, but they’re unbeaten in 2025 and appear one of the strongest contenders to go all the way in this competition.
Here is 90min’s guide to Barcelona’s trip to Benfica in the Champions League round of 16.
|
Benfica |
Barcelona |
|---|---|
|
Benfica 1-0 Braga – 26/02/25 |
Barcelona 4-0 Real Sociedad – 02/03/25 |
|
Benfica 3-0 Boavista – 22/02/25 |
Barcelona 4-4 Atletico Madrid – 25/02/25 |
|
Benfica 3-3 Monaco – 18/02/25 |
Las Palmas 0-2 Barcelona – 22/2/25 |
|
Santa Clara 0-1 Benfica – 15/02/25 |
Barcelona 1-0 Rayo Vallecano – 17/2/25 |
|
Monaco 0-1 Benfica – 12/02/25 |
Sevilla 1-4 Barcelona – 9/2/25 |
|
Country |
TV channel/live stream |
|---|---|
|
United Kingdom |
discovery+, discovery+ App, TNT Sports 3 |
|
United States |
Paramount+, TUDN.com, Univision NOW, TUDN App, TUDN USA, UniMás |
|
Canada |
DAZN Canada |
The hosts are without a couple of notable names through injury on Wednesday night. Former Real Madrid winger Angel Di Maria misses out with a hamstring issue, while Florentino Luis is also sidelined.
Alexander Bah and and Manu Silva are out for the season after tearing their ACLs in the same game last month. Tiago Gouveia continues to nurse a shoulder injury.
Vangelis Pavlidis is in red-hot scoring form and scored a hat-trick in the previous meeting between the two clubs. He’ll be starting up top for Benfica in Lisbon.
Benfica predicted lineup vs Barcelona (4-3-3): Trubin; Araujo, Silva, Otamendi, Carreras; Aursnes, Barreiro, Kokcu; Akturkoglu, Pavlidis, Schjelderup.
It’s been a frustrating campaign for Andreas Christensen, and the former Chelsea defender is set for another spell on the sidelines due to a muscle injury. He’s not expected back until April at the earliest.
Ronald Araujo was on the scoresheet at the weekend but could drop out of the starting XI in Lisbon on Wednesday. Flick seems to prefer the centre-back partnership of Pau Cubarsi and Inigo Martinez. Araujo also scored an own goal on his previous visit to the Portuguese capital.
Marc Bernal and Marc-Andre ter Stegen remain sidelined for the visitors, but there’s hope Gavi will shake off an illness in time to feature.
Barcelona predicted lineup vs Benfica (4-2-3-1): Szczesny; Kounde, Cubarsi, Martinez, Balde; De Jong, Pedri; Yamal, Olmo, Raphinha; Lewandowski.
These two teams have set the bar incredibly high given what they produced during the league phase. A late Raphinha strike on the break sealed a remarkable 5-4 victory for Barca.
Barca’s impressive run of form continued at the weekend, and while there may be a few concerns over potential player burnout later on this term, the Catalonians currently look fresh. Their superstars are purring and Benfica have little chance of slowing them down.
The visitors will likely surrender chances to the in-form Pavlidis, who’s excellent at running in behind, but Barca will surely make a concerted effort to ensure he doesn’t run riot. Expect goals on Wednesday in a more comfortable Barca win.
