Champions League: Barcelona back in Lisbon for more Goals!

Benfica vs Barcelona

Hansi Flick’s Barcelona head to Portugal on Wednesday for a tasty Champions League Round of 16 first leg clash against Bruno Lage’s SL Benfica.

The Blaugrana were superb throughout the new league table format, finishing second to Liverpool with a record of six wins, one draw and one defeat. They met Benfica along the way, coming out on the right side of a nine goal thriller and goals are on the cards when the two clash again on Wednesday.    

The draw was kind to Barca and the SBOTOP Champions League odds have installed the Blaugrana as second favourites, behind Real Madrid, to win the tournament at a price of 5.10 with Los Blancos at 4.30. I say the draw was kind but, finishing so high in the table makes matters easier and Real Madrid, who face Atletico and Bayern Munich who meet their nemesis Bayer Leverkusen will wish they had been more consistent at the group stage.    

Benfica are no mugs on the European stage and dominant in Portugal. Lage’s team come into the game on the back of a 3-0 win at home to Boavista while Barca slapped Real Sociedad 4-0 to stay at the top of the La Liga Primera Division.    

Talking Points

Pavlidis is box office for Benfica

Having squeezed into a seeded spot in 16^th place, Benfica faced AS Monaco, who were 17^th, in the play-off and the tie was as tight as expected, the Portuguese side edging through thanks to a 4-3 win. Greek international Vangelis Pavlidis scored in the South of France and then his team fought back from a deficit twice in the home leg to win 3-3, the 26 year old scoring the crucial second from the penalty spot. That made it seven goals and two assists for Pavlidis and he will be the biggest goal threat again on Wednesday.

Barcelona know full well just how dangerous he is as Pavlidis scored a first half hat-trick when the two teams met at the league stage. He also climbed off the bench to score in Benfica’s win over Boavista at the weekend and he’ll be ready to take his starting spot against Barcelona. The Turkish pair of Kerem Akturkoglu and Orkun Kokcu are in line to start alongside the Greek star but there will be no sign of Argentine winger Angel Di Maria who has a muscle strain, though his countryman Nicolas Otamendi will lead the team from his position at centre back.  

Barca sharp shooters can see a route to glory

While Pavlidis is sure to make some more Champions League 2025 highlights on Wednesday, of course the Catalans have plenty of firepower and a frightening array of attacking talent led by the legendary Robert Lewandowski. The lethal Pole has scored over 700 goals in a glittering career and was a Champions League winner with Bayern Munich back in 2020. Now 36, he would love nothing more than to repeat that success with Barcelona and, after finishing second at the group stage they have a clear path to go deep into the competition. The Blaugrana have landed in the opposite side of the draw to Liverpool and the two Madrid giants after a campaign which saw them earn 19 points from a possible 21 after losing their opener to Monaco, scoring a whopping 28 goals along the way.       

Robert Lewandowski is leading the race for the Golden Boot with nine goals and with Brazilian winger Raphinha on eight, Barca have a sparkling front three made up by teenage sensation Lamine Yamal. The Catalans were at their ruthless best in their victory over Sociedad, at the weekend, scoring four unanswered goals with Lewi bagging the fourth and they have scored 20 goals in the last six games in all competitions. And there is more good news for Barca’s attacking unit as creative midfielder Gavi has been cleared to play after missing the match with Sociedad through illness.

History

Benfica and Barcelona have met seven times over the past two decades and the Catalans have avoided defeat in all but one, winning three and drawing three. And when they met in the league stage both teams put on a spectacular show in that nine goal thriller, as Raphinha hit the 96^th minute winner after Pavlidis had put the hosts in charge.   

Both teams come into the match in great form, with five wins and a draw from the last six games but Barca have serious momentum, unbeaten in 14 and in ten games on the road.

Betting Tip

The Benfica vs Barcelona betting odds for this first leg give the Portuguese club a fighting chance, priced at 3.46 to win or 3.76 to draw, with Barca odds on to win. I suspect Flick’s men will have too much for their hosts but one thing I’m surer of… is that there will be goals.  

 

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