Barcelona to edge Benfica on UCL matchday 2

SL Benfica vs FC Barcelona - 29/09/2021

7743

Benfica host Barcelona on matchday 2 of the Champions League on Wednesday night. The Eagles are aiming to defeat Barcelona for the first time in the 21st century.

The Portuguese side goes into the game having drawn nil-nil with Dynamo Kiev on matchday 1 of Group E. Benfica are unbeaten this season posting a record of 10W-2D-0L in all competitions.

Jorge Jesus’s team have outscored opponents 25-5 in all competitions with seven clean sheets. On Wednesday, they will play Barcelona, however. Barcelona are the strongest team Benfica have played all season, and it will be a close match between the two sides.

Barcelona go into the game following a 3-0 win over Levante in La Liga. It ended a three-match winless streak in all competitions for the club. Memphis Depay, Luuk de Jong, and Ansu Fati scored for the Blaugrana. Fati returned after nearly a year out with a serious knee injury.

Ronald Koeman’s team has not played well on the road this season. They have played just twice on the road with both games ending in draws. Barcelona have scored just once and conceded once on the road in 180 minutes of football.

The Barcelona manager will be without defender Alex Balde, Sergio Aguero, and Ousmane Dembele for the game on Wednesday. Forward Martin Braithwaite is also ruled out through injury.

Jordi Alba and Fati are likely to find a place in the starting XI. Frenkie de Jong is available following a domestic suspension.

Jesus has a couple of players on the team’s injury list going into the game. Haris Seferovic is likely to miss games until after the October international break. Defender Andre Almeida is a doubt due to personal issues.

These teams played four times in the Champions League between 2005 and 2013. Barcelona won twice and drew twice during that time period.

Benfica are led in goals between Darwin Nunez and Roman Yaremchuk with eight goals combined. Rafa Silva has been excellent with two assists and could get a start in the team.

Memphis Depay leads Barcelona in goals this season with three. He tallied a goal at the weekend versus Levante and will go into the fixture full of confidence. Frenkie de Jong leads the team in assists with two.

Barcelona are unbeaten in their last four games against Benfica. The Spanish giants should remain unbeaten with a win this season away at the Estadio da Luz.

It should be a close game with a single goal separating them and Barcelona winning to nil.

Home team
Away team

Probability %

1X2

Pred

Correct score

Avg. goals

Weather conditions

Coef.

Score

Live
coef.

UCL

SL Benfica FC Barcelona 29/09/2021 21:00

253639

2

0 - 1

2.08

18°

2.48

3.00 3.50 2.48 1 1 -1

FT

3 - 0(1 - 0)

-

- - -