This Tuesday, at 6:45 PM, Barça and Benfica face off in the second leg of the Champions League round of 16. The match will be played at Lluís Companys, a stadium that will have one of the best attendances of the season, mainly due to the schedule. It can be followed through Movistar Liga de Campeones and minute by minute on our social media @carpetasblaugranas.
François Letexier will be the referee in charge of officiating the match, joined in the VAR by his compatriot Jérôme Brisard. The French referee has officiated only once for Barça and Benfica, for the Catalans it was this same season, against Dortmund in the group stage. The same goes for the Lisbon team, in the 20/21 year when the Lisbon team faced Standard Liège.
How Barça Arrives
The blaugranas suffered a hard blow last week, due to the passing of Dr. Carles Miñarro, a staff member very beloved by the team. This news led to the cancellation of the match against Osasuna, which was to be played last Saturday and now the Competition Judge will decide the new date for the match. However, this match is one of the most important of the season, the positive is that they arrive with a one-goal advantage after the first leg.
Flick spoke about Carles, whom he described as an unbelievable and essential person for the team, which is why tomorrow's situation "it's very important to play, to win for him." Regarding whether he expects changes in Benfica's line-up, he doesn't think there will be surprises because Bruno Lage knows what he's playing. As for the week ahead for the Catalan team, it reminds him of the one they already overcame when facing Bayern and Madrid.
Regarding the line-up, the German coach has commented that Lewandowski is fully recovered and can start without any problem. The question mark is again the attacking midfielder position, as Dani Olmo and Gavi are competing for a spot in that XI. The rest, the gala eleven, with the scoring trio up front and at the back, Araújo will replace the suspended Cubarsí.
How Benfica Arrives
The Portuguese team, unlike in the first leg, arrives less rested than the blaugranas after having played next weekend in their league. That match ended with a victory for the Lisbon team, a resounding 3-0 against Nacional, in which Pavlidis scored again. By winning, they placed second, just three points behind Sporting Lisbon with one game less.
Bruno Lage, the Portuguese team's coach, assures that he won't be focused on any particular player and won't change the strategy depending on who is playing. Regarding the need to score, he believes they won't have that obsession to score considering the team's experience. He also had words for Miñarro, acknowledging that it's a difficult moment for their rival and that "he won't know how they will react."
Regarding the possible XI, Florentino could return to the starting line-up after missing the first leg due to injury, although Bruno Lage hasn't confirmed that he's 100% for the match. However, they will have several important absences, one is Di Maria who is still injured and another is Álvaro Carreras who is suspended. One of the doubts will be the '9' position, as he has several profiles like Pavlidis, who knows what it's like to score against Barça.
Match Keys
Lamine's Wing: Álvaro's suspension is very significant for the Lisbon team, mainly because the Spanish full-back had done a great job stopping Lamine Yamal. On the other hand, the Barça youth player will have his chance to shine against a team he hasn't performed well against, in fact, he was substituted early in the first leg. Additionally, the winger hasn't scored in several months, although this doesn't seem to bother him or his coach, given what he contributes on the field.
Mood: the passing of a member so close to the team has greatly affected players and staff, as Flick has assured. It remains to be seen what the players' reaction will be and to what extent such sad news has affected them. One possibility, which the blaugrana fans would want, is that they come out very motivated to dedicate the victory to Carles.
Playing on the Edge: Cubarsí's expulsion opens the door for Ronald Araújo and with it, a change in ball distribution. What won't change is the way of playing the offside trap, something that will generate doubts with the Uruguayan as he's not so accustomed to this type of play. The positive side is that the captain has a lot of physical prowess, which allows him to reach balls more easily than his teammates.
Bench: the starting eleven is important, however, since it was approved to have 5 substitutions instead of 3, a lot of importance has been given to the substitutes. Flick has almost the entire squad very engaged and Bruno Lage has several players who could be starters in any match. Getting the substitutions right can change a match completely and the German coach has shown that he can change dynamics in any situation.