The Daily Star Ireland
Benfica is a serious contender for the Portuguese League, holding a place in the top three. However, their recent form has been inconsistent, as evident from two defeats at the end of 2024 and the beginning of the new year. They lost to Sporting 1-0 and Braga 2-1 at home in the championship. These disappointments were short-lived as they immediately recovered with a 3-0 win over Braga in the semi-final of the League Cup within four days. A probable repeat of their game with Sporting in the League Cup final on January 11 created the potential for Benfica to seek revenge against them. With a win, Benfica will go into the top eight in the Champions League, keeping them alive for direct qualification to the round of 16. Their recent performance was underwhelming, though, as they managed only a 0-0 draw against Bologna, a team yet to secure a win in the competition.
On the other hand, Barcelona has had its own share of problems. After holding a nine-point lead over Real Madrid and more than ten over Atlético following an October Clasico victory, Barça lost their top spot in the league. They started the new year by advancing to the Spanish Supercopa final with a 2-0 win over Athletic Bilbao in the semi-final. In the Champions League, under Hansi Flick, Barcelona has been competitive, sitting three points behind Liverpool in their group. The highlights of this run include a 4-1 thrashing of Bayern Munich and a thrilling 3-2 victory against last season’s finalist Borussia Dortmund. They defeated Brest 3-0 in another group stage match.
Benfica will go into this match practically with a fully fit squad since only Tiago Gouveia remains out with an injury. On the other side, Renato Sanches returns from injury. Star players so far this season include the league’s Ángel Di María with six goals and three assists, who scored a double in the League Cup semi-final, Vangelis Pavlidis, and Kerem Aktürkoğlu, both influential at domestic and European levels. Barcelona have registered Dani Olmo and Pau Victor for the Champions League. The team does have some key absences, though, as Marc-André ter Stegen and Marc Bernal are both out with long-term injuries. Andreas Christensen is also a doubt. However, Barcelona does boast the top two scorers in the Champions League this season, with Robert Lewandowski scoring seven goals and Raphinha contributing six goals and three assists.
Prediction
Judging by the recent games, the two teams are not expected to give much space. Considering Champions League matches involving these two sides recently, in 19 straight games, the total goals have been below 3.5.
Prediction: Benfica 1: 1 Barcelona
