Benfica vs. Barcelona: Prediction, Preview & Betting Tips

Both sides' recent form has been strong, but with Barcelona having won all of their last five in the Champions League, they should have too much for Benfica.

Over 2.5 goals has occurred in four of Benfica's six games in the Champions League and all of Barcelona's six games in this competition this season, so we should see a pretty high-scoring encounter. All in all, though, it's one Barça should win, given their superiority on paper. Benfica 1-3 Barcelona.

Benfica are part of the fight for an automatic progression spot in the Champions League as they face the tough task of Barcelona this week.

• Date: 21/01/2025
• Kick-off time: 20:00
• Location: Estádio da Luz, Lisbon

Benfica come into this game 15th in the Champions League table with 10 points from six games. This season’s European campaign has been a mixed one for the Portuguese giants, who’ve had both good and bad results. Wins against Atlético Madrid and Monaco were impressive, while a defeat to Feyenoord and a draw at home to Bologna will leave the club wondering "what if", should they fail to qualify for the next round.

Domestically, Benfica have been pretty strong, as they sit 2nd in the league table, just three points behind leaders Sporting. Having won just one of the last six league titles on offer, Benfica have fallen well short of expectations lately and they’ll want to rectify that.

In the Champions League, Benfica have reached the quarter-final stage in two of the last three campaigns, but having been knocked out at the group stage last season, they’ll be determined to give a better account of themselves this time around. Since the Champions League transitioned to its modern format from the old European Cup, which Benfica were twice winners of, they haven’t gone beyond the quarter-final stage, and while that’s unlikely to change this season, they won’t have a chance at all if they don’t make the knockout round.

Given their position, Benfica will almost certainly need six points from their final two games if they want to progress automatically. If a home game against Barcelona wasn’t hard enough, they’ll end their group stage with an away game at Juventus, so their chances are probably quite slim.

Barcelona currently sit 2nd in the Champions League table with 15 points from six games. The Catalan club have been in impressive form in the Champions League, where they’ve won five games in a row after losing their opening match against Monaco.

A point from their final two games should ensure they automatically progress to the next round, but they’ll want to finish with aplomb to try and spur on a good run of form. At their best, Barça are scintillating, but they’ve been extremely streaky this season, and that could prove a big barrier to them winning one of the two major trophies on offer. Barcelona led La Liga for many of the opening weeks of the campaign, but just one win in their last eight in the league has seen them slide down to 3rd.

It was only last week when Barcelona hammered rivals Real Madrid 5-2 in the Super Cup final, but in their first league game after that, they failed to beat Getafe, underscoring their inconsistent nature. It may be that Barcelona’s streakiness suits knockout football, as they’re a team that will take quite some beating on their day, and the weight of the occasion of Champions League knockout fixtures should lead to greater levels of motivation.

Barcelona haven’t won this competition since 2015, and with their bitter rivals Real Madrid having dominated the continent in the years since, they’ll be more than desperate to get their hands on the trophy once again. They’re in the mix, no doubt, but they’ll need to iron out some flaws if they want to give themselves the best possible chance.

This game will be televised live to all subscribed UK viewers on TNT Sports 1.

Benfica Team News:

Renato Sanches, Gianluca Prestianni and Tiago Gouveia are all likely to miss out for the Portuguese side here.

Ángel Di María, however, should return to the starting XI after missing out at the weekend.

Predicted lineup: Trubin; Araújo, Silva, Otamendi, Carreras; Barreiro, Luís, Kökçü; Di María, Pavlidis, Schjelderup.

Barcelona Team News:

Barcelona will once again be without Marc Bernal, Iñigo Martínez and Marc-André ter Stegen.

Hansi Flick is also sweating on the fitness of Dani Olmo, who is a doubt after picking up a knock in the game against Getafe at the weekend.

Predicted lineup: Peña; Koundé, Araújo, Cubarsí, Balde; Casadó, Pedri; Yamal, Gavi, Raphinha; Lewandowski.

Benfica:

Benfica are coming into this game with four wins and one defeat from their last five games. At the weekend, Benfica sailed to a comfortable 4-0 win over Familacão, with a Leandro Barreiro hat-trick and a goal from Orkun Kökçü getting the job done.

Before that, Benfica beat Farense 3-1, with the goals coming from Andreas Schjelderup, Arthur Cabral and Alexander Bah, which came after a penalty shootout win over Sporting CP following a 1-1 draw where Schjelderup scored the goal.

Those results followed a 3-0 win over Sporting Braga, courtesy of Ángel Di María (X2) and Álvaro Fernández, and a 1-2 loss to Braga in the league.

Barcelona:

Barcelona have won four and drawn one of their last games. Hansi Flick's men slumped to a 1-1 draw at Getafe at the weekend, with Jules Koundé scoring the goal, which was preceded by a 5-1 win over Betis, thanks to Gavi, Koundé, Raphinha, Ferran Torres and Lamine Yamal.

Those results preceded a thumping 5-2 win over Real Madrid - where Yamal, Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha (X2) and Alejandro Balde scored the goals - and a 2-0 win over Athletic Club, thanks to Gavi and Yamal.

Barça's other result in that five-game stretch was a 4-0 Copa del Rey win over Barbastro.

• Latest match predictions
• Football tips
• Football accumulator tips
• Football bet of the day