Comments and predictions for Barcelona vs Benfica: The away team will fall
The match between Barcelona vs Benfica in the Champion League takes place at 0:45 on March 12. Nghe An Newspaper analyzes performance, makes football comments and predicts the score.
Latest Barcelona vs Benfica squad information
Barcelona confirmed earlier this month that Andreas Christensen suffered a fresh injury just days after returning, and the centre-back will be sidelined until April with a calf problem.
The home team also continues 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 was absent from Saturday's postponed game against Osasuna due to a minor fitness issue, but the Poland striker is expected to be fit in time to lead the attack in Tuesday's home game.
Gavi could feature on the Barcelona bench after recovering from illness that kept him out of the first leg, while Ronald Araujo is likely to take on the central defender role as Cubarsi is suspended for one match after being sent off in the first leg.
On Benfica's side, the Portuguese team also suffered a loss in terms of force when Alexander Bah, Manu Silva and Tiago Gouveia are all injured and cannot play.
Former Real Madrid player Angel Di Maria continues to be absent after missing the last six games due to fitness problems.
Tomas Araujo is a doubt after not featuring in Saturday's win over Nacional, while Alvaro Carreras will be sidelined through a one-match suspension for accumulating yellow cards.
January signing Bruma, who has featured in all four of their last league games, will miss this clash due to not being included in Benfica's squad for the Champions League knockout stages.
After making a number of changes to the squad over the weekend, coach Lage could bring back key players such as Leandro Barreiro, Kerem Akturkoglu, Andreas Schjelderup and Pavlidis to strengthen Benfica in the upcoming confrontation.
Latest expected lineup for Barcelona vs Benfica
Barcelona:
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 commentary on Barcelona vs Benfica
Barcelona have not played since their trip to Lisbon last week, after Saturday’s La Liga match was postponed following the sudden death of first-team doctor Carles Minarro Garcia. President Joan Laporta said the team were still in a state of “shock” at the loss.
Before Sunday's training session at the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper, players and coaching staff observed a minute's silence in memory of Dr. Minarro Garcia. Benfica coach Bruno Lage also sent his condolences to Barcelona after the Portuguese side's 3-0 win over Nacional at the weekend.
Despite the emotional circumstances, Barcelona will be looking to prepare for Tuesday's Champions League return leg, having won 1-0 in the first leg despite playing with a man down for nearly 70 minutes following Pau Cubarsi's early red card at the Estadio da Luz.
Goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny produced an excellent performance with eight saves, while Raphinha scored the decisive goal, helping the Catalans extend their unbeaten run to 16 games in all competitions since a 2-1 defeat to Atletico Madrid in December.
Barcelona only need to avoid defeat to qualify for the next round, but they are well placed to win at Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys. Xavi’s side have won five of their last seven home games, including a 4-0 win over Real Sociedad – a game in which they also played with a man down.
In addition, the head-to-head record is also on Barcelona’s side when hosting Benfica. They have never lost in four home matches against this opponent (won 2, drawn 2), and kept a clean sheet in the last three matches.
On the other side of the front line, Benfica will certainly regret losing the first leg narrowly, especially when they were unable to take advantage of the extra man advantage after Cubarsi was sent off. This is also the second time they have lost to Barcelona at home this season, after a dramatic 4-5 loss in the group stage in January.
However, Lage and his students quickly regained their spirit with a 3-0 victory over Nacional last weekend, with goals from Zeki Amdouni, Orkun Kokcu and Vangelis Pavlidis.
This is also the fourth match in the last five rounds of Primeira Liga that Benfica scored at least three goals, thereby leveling the score with Sporting Lisbon in the championship race.
Putting aside their domestic ambitions, Benfica will focus all their efforts on the important Champions League match. However, history is not on their side, as the team has lost five of their last six knockout matches after losing the first leg.
Benfica have also had a less than impressive record in Spain, winning just two of their 13 away games against La Liga sides. Their most recent win was against Atletico Madrid in the 2015-16 Champions League group stage.
However, Benfica can still draw confidence from their recent impressive away form in Europe. They have won their last three away games in the Champions League, beating Monaco and Juventus in the group stage, before going on to overcome the Ligue 1 side in the play-off knockout stages.
Latest Barcelona vs Benfica score prediction
Based on the above football comments, we and the world's leading football sites have given the results of 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 to watch Barcelona vs Benfica live?
To watch the live match Barcelona vs Benfica in the Champion League taking place at 0:45 on March 12, viewers can watch on TVK+ Sport,K+PMor online sports channels. Wish you have fun watching football.
