Thanks to their heroics last Wednesday in Lisbon, FC Barcelona are going into the second leg of their Champions League last sixteen match with Benfica (Tuesday 6.45pm CET) with two huge factors in their favour. First, they have a one-goal head start, and second, they are playing at home.
Despite the early loss of Pau Cubarsí to a red card at the Stadium of Light, Barça not only managed to deal with the situation brilliantly, but even went on to win the match 1-0 thanks to a terrific second half goal from the in-form Raphinha.
Things are fabulously stacked in their favour, but if any team knows that a positive result in a first leg is no absolute guarantee of qualification, it's Barça. Fresh in the memory are games such as those with Liverpool, Eintracht Frankfurt and last season against PSG... occasions when great performances in the first 90 minutes were followed by disappointments in the return. That can't happen again.
Eagles still in it
So it's important for Barça not to be lulled into a false sense of security. Benfica, the team with the strongest shot conversion rate in this year's competition, and who scored four times against the Catalans in the League Phase, failed to click last week. But following a comfortable 3-0 win over Nacional in their domestic championship on Saturday, they'll be coming to the Estadi Olimpic knowing that they are by no means out of this yet.
They are understandably furious with themselves for not taking advantage of either their home advantage or their numerical superiority last week. But as they showed against Monaco and Juventus in the group stage, when called upon, they are quite capable of winning at the very toughest grounds in Europe.
That said, Benfica have failed in all four previous attempts to win away to Barça. And the Catalans have not lost at home to any Portuguese club at all since 1952. With seven wins and a draw in their last eight Champions League matches and unbeaten in all competitions in 2025, Barça are very much the favourites to advance. All that remains is to demonstrate that on the pitch...
Memory of Carles Miñarro
Barça's own game at home to Osasuna was postponed following the tragic death of Carles Miñarro. The late team doctor is sure to be on everyone's minds as they take to the field on Tuesday, and Hansi Flick said in his pre-game press conference, the players are determined to win this game in his honour.
It's been a difficult few days at the club, but the German insists that his players have managed to switch their minds back to football, and are 100% ready to face the challenge.
Team news
Marc-Andre ter Stegen and midfielder Marc Bernal are both out for the season, and Andreas Christensen remains unfit. Barça will also be without Pau Cubarsí, who is suspended following his red card in the first leg. However, Gavi is back to his usual self after recovering from a bout of fever, and a minor niggle suffered by Robert Lewandowski is nothing to prevent him from playing.
Benfica's cause is not helped by the absences of Danish right back Alexander Bah, defensive midfielder Manu Silva, winger Tiago Gouveia and former Real Madrid man Angel Di Maria to injury, while Spaniard Álvaro Carreras is on a yellow card suspension. What's more, winter signing from Braga, Bruma, is not eligible for the competition.
Hansi says
Speaking on Monday, the FC Barcelona coach said, "We have to pressure more against Benfica and defend well. In Lisbon we saw how they can counter and we have to be careful ... We have to be focused and have the right attitude to get the win. We are preparing well; it's an important moment for the club and we want to do well."
"The players are doing fantastically well, they are in a good run at the moment and we are confident - we have to maintain that for this game ... This morning in the meeting we showed them what we did well in Lisbon and where we have to improve." FULL STORY HERE
Benfica coach Bruno Lage and defender Tomàs Araújo also spoke to media ahead of the game.