Barcelona vs Benfica Champions League preview: Where to watch, predicted line-ups, team news
Tuesday, March 11, 2025
Article summary
Where to watch, predicted line-ups, team news, form and coaches' views ahead of the round of 16 second leg.
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Barcelona host Benfica in the second leg of their UEFA Champions League round of 16 tie.
Match at a glance
When: 11 March (18:45 CET)
Where: Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, Barcelona
What: Champions League round of 16 second leg
Who: A five-time winner of this competition meets a two-time champion
First leg result: Benfica 0-1 Barcelona
Next: Winners face Borussia Dortmund/Lille in quarter-finals
How to follow: Build-up and live coverage can be found here
Where to watch the game on TV
Fans can find their local UEFA Champions League broadcast partner(s) here.
What do you need to know?
Although it didn't quite match the 5-4 thriller in the league phase, the first leg between these European giants was still an engaging watch, with Barcelona managing to come away from Lisbon with a victory courtesy of Raphinha's low drive despite playing over 70 minutes with ten men after Pau Cubarsí was sent off early on. Benfica still have hope, though. "We believe we can go there and win," insisted midfielder Fredrik Aursnes to UEFA.com. "We have to believe, do our best and see how far we can go." Don't write this tie off just yet.
Possible line-ups
Barcelona: Szczęsny; Koundé, Eric García, Iñigo Martínez, Balde; De Jong, Pedri; Yamal, Olmo, Raphinha; Lewandowski
Benfica: Trubin; Tomás Araújo, António Silva, Otamendi, Dahl; Orkun Kökçü, Aursnes, Barreiro; Kerem Aktürkoğlu, Pavlidis, Schjelderup
Form guide
Form: WWDWWW
Latest: Benfica 0-1 Barcelona, Champions League round of 16 first leg, 05/03
Form: WLWWDW
Latest: Benfica 3-0 Nacional, First Division, 08/03
What the coaches say
Hansi Flick, Barcelona coach: "They have a great team. Bruno Lage is doing a great job and his philosophy is evident on the pitch. The best thing for us to do is remain 100% focused and not think about the first leg. They press high up the pitch, they do it very well, and they have won many away games. We have to be aware of that. In this morning's talk, we showed the good and bad of the first leg. No one thinks the work is done on our side."
Bruno Lage, Benfica coach: "Our aim is to feel confident. We created many opportunities when we played them [in the league phase and the first leg], and we felt that we could have had different results in both games. We have to understand very well how we can build on those two games."