Barcelona vs Benfica Prediction and Analysis: The Away Team Will Fall

Latest Barcelona vs Benfica team news

Barcelona confirmed earlier this month that Andreas Christensen suffered a new injury just days after returning from injury, and the central defender will be sidelined until April due to a calf problem.

The home team will also continue to be without goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen and midfielder Marc Bernal, both of whom are still recovering from long-term knee injuries.

Robert Lewandowski missed Saturday's postponed match against Osasuna due to a minor fitness issue, but the Polish striker is expected to recover in time to lead the attack in Tuesday's home game.

Gavi could feature on Barcelona's bench after recovering from an illness that prevented him from participating in the first leg. Meanwhile, Ronald Araujo is likely to take on the central defender role as Cubarsi is suspended for one match after receiving a direct red card in the first leg.

On Benfica's side, the Portuguese team also suffered losses in terms of personnel as Alexander Bah, Manu Silva, and Tiago Gouveia are all injured and unable to play.

Former Real Madrid player Angel Di Maria will continue to be absent after missing the last six matches due to fitness issues.

Tomas Araujo's participation is uncertain after missing Saturday's win against Nacional, while Alvaro Carreras will be sidelined with a one-match suspension for accumulating too many yellow cards.

January signing Bruma, who has featured in all four of the league matches, will be unavailable for this game as he is not included in Benfica's squad for the Champions League knockout stage.

After making some changes to the lineup last weekend, coach Lage may bring back key players such as Leandro Barreiro, Kerem Akturkoglu, Andreas Schjelderup and Pavlidis to strengthen Benfica's squad for the upcoming match.

Latest predicted lineups for Barcelona vs Benfica

barbecue:

Szczesny; Kounde, Araujo, Martinez, Balde; Olmo, De Jong, Pedri; Yamal, Raphinha, Lewandowski

Benfica:

Trubin; Santos, Silva, Otamendi, Dahl; Aursnes, Barreiro, Kokcu; Akturkoglu, Schjelderup, Pavlidis

Latest football match prediction: Barcelona vs Benfica

Barcelona haven't played since their trip to Lisbon last week, after Saturday's La Liga match was postponed due to the sudden death of first-team doctor Carles Minarro Garcia. President Joan Laporta said the entire team is still in a state of "shock" following the loss.

Before Sunday's training session at Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper, the players and coaching staff observed a minute of silence in memory of Dr. Minarro Garcia. Benfica coach Bruno Lage also sent his condolences to Barcelona after the Portuguese team's 3-0 victory over Nacional at the weekend.

Despite facing an emotional situation, Barcelona will still try to prepare as best as possible for Tuesday's Champions League second leg. They have the advantage after their 1-0 victory in the first leg, even though they played with ten men for almost 70 minutes following Pau Cubarsi's early red card at Estadio da Luz.

Goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny delivered an outstanding performance with eight saves, while Raphinha scored the winning goal, helping the Catalan side extend their unbeaten run to 16 matches across all competitions since their 1-2 defeat to Atletico Madrid in December.

Barcelona only need to avoid defeat to qualify for the next round, but they have every reason to aim for a victory at Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys. Xavi's side have won five of their last seven home games, including a 4-0 win against Real Sociedad – a match in which their opponents also played with ten men.

Furthermore, the head-to-head history also favors Barcelona when hosting Benfica. They have never lost in their four previous encounters with this opponent at home (2 wins, 2 draws), and have kept a clean sheet in the last three matches.

On the other side of the pitch, Benfica will undoubtedly regret their narrow defeat in the first leg, especially for failing to capitalize on their numerical advantage after Cubarsi was sent off. This was also their second home defeat against Barcelona this season, following a dramatic 4-5 loss in the group stage in January.

However, Lage and his players quickly recovered their spirits with a 3-0 victory over Nacional last weekend, with goals from Zeki Amdouni, Orkun Kokcu, and Vangelis Pavlidis.

This was also the fourth match in the last five Primeira Liga rounds in which Benfica scored at least three goals, thus leveling the points with Sporting Lisbon in the title race.

Putting aside their domestic ambitions for now, Benfica will focus all their efforts on this crucial Champions League match. However, history is not on their side, as the team has lost five of their last six knockout rounds after failing in the first leg.

Furthermore, Benfica also has a rather unimpressive record in Spain, winning only two of their 13 away matches against La Liga representatives. Their most recent victory was against Atletico Madrid in the group stage of the 2015-16 Champions League.

Nevertheless, Benfica can still find confidence from their recent impressive away form in European competitions. They have won all three of their most recent away matches in the Champions League, defeating Monaco and Juventus in the group stage, before going on to overcome a Ligue 1 representative in the knockout play-off round.

Latest Barcelona vs Benfica score prediction

Based on the above football analysis, we and leading football websites worldwide have provided our predictions for the match.Barcelona vs Benficaas follows:

• Sportsmole:Barcelona 2-0 Benfica

• WhoScore:Barcelona 3-1 Benfica
• Our newspaper predicts:Barcelona 3-1 Benfica

When and where can I watch Barcelona vs Benfica live?

To watch the Barcelona vs Benfica match live in the Champions League, taking place at 00:45 on March 12th, viewers can tune in to the following channels:K+ Sport,K+PMor online sports channels. We hope you enjoy watching football.