Benfica vs Barcelona Match Preview

Benfica is ranked at 2nd place after drawing the opener against Dynamo Kyiv in a game they could have lost if it wasn't for a disallowed goal in the final minute but not just that, because apart from having more ball possession the game was pretty balanced. In their domestic league, they have been perfect with seven wins over seven matches played having scored 19 goals while conceding just 4.

This, and the shaky results of their rivals, caused the odds to change drastically here but still, they will have to face a team like Barcelona and the gap is huge with what they faced in the domestic league. They had the chance to prove themselves in the game against the Ukrainians and they failed to do so. Goncalves, Seferovic, Almeida, Radonjic and Svilar are all expected to miss this duel and it surely should influence their performance.

Barcelona, on the other hand, is ranked at 4th place as they suffered a bad defeat 0-3 at home against Bayern Munich. It will be a tough situation in this group considering the period they are in but I have faith in their quality and soon the improvements are going to happen. In their most recent duel, they got a 3-0 win at home against Levante and that will serve as a boost in their morale to try more in their Champions League tasks too.

The most important thing from that league game is that Ansu Fati is back and in the 10 minutes he played he also managed to find the back of the net. He is expected to play more minutes in the second half here if the team will need him. In attack we should see again De Jong backed up by Depay and Coutinho.

In conclusion, I think Barcelona can win this match or get at least a draw. While it is true that they are having lots of ups and downs lately, they still are a better roster than Benfica so these odds despite being on the road are worth trying for. Benfica failed to beat them in any of the six h2h games they played throughout history.