Benfica v Barcelona Match Result
Benfica meet with Barcelona at the last sixteen stage of the Champions League and it’s a tough draw for the Portuguese side. They’re given just a 25% chance of landing a success by the bookies, although Bruno Lage’s team have been faring well in the past few weeks. This includes a 4-3 aggregate win over Monaco in the previous round of the competition.
A Vangelis Pavlidis goal was the difference between the two teams in the first leg clash before a crazy second leg where Benfica had to come from behind to ensure they went through to set up this attractive tie. However, this is a team that landed six victories in the past seven encounters, scoring plenty of goals.
The Estádio da Luz is always a fierce setting for visiting supporters, with Benfica recently enjoying a 3-0 victory over Boavista, while we should also note that they really should have beaten Barcelona when the teams clashed in the group stage of the competition back in January. On that occasion, the Portuguese side led 3-1 and 4-2 before their opponents somehow came back to land a 5-4 triumph.
The evidence of that clash suggests that Barcelona aren’t nailed on to land a first leg victory here. However, they did completely dominate possession with 75% of the ball and they also registered eleven shots on target, the last of which was a Raphinha winner. On the flip side, they did concede four times to a dangerous Benfica side.
Barcelona don’t tend to lose many games, with the Catalan side having gone unbeaten in 2025 and the last time they tasted defeat was a 2-1 home reverse against Atletico Madrid before Christmas. Since then, Flick’s team have gone unbeaten and they can ultimately outscore their opponents on most occasions.
Goals Under/Over
Considering that these teams played out a 4-5 scoreline as recently as Tuesday 21 January, it’s hardly a surprise that Over 2.5 Goals is trading at a short price. Many will include this selection in their Champions League accumulators, with Barcelona capable of covering the line all by themselves. The interesting thing is that Over 3.5 Goals is available at even money and it’s plausible to see four goals being scored.
After all, Barca recently went up against Atletico Madrid in the Copa del Rey and drew 4-4 to highlight their attack-minded approach to every game, while we also have to take into account the 3-3 draw between Benfica and Monaco which saw an end-to-end game taking place and we might see a similar pattern here.
Over 4.5 Goals can be backed at 3.40 and it’s fair to say that Benfica will be looking to meet fire with fire in a bid to gain any kind of edge before heading the Nou Camp with a chance to qualify.
BTTS
The BTTS Yes outcome is trading at a slightly shorter price than Over 2.5 Goals and that’s because a 1-1 scoreline would also see the former outcome happen. Barcelona have scored a stupendous sixty-seven goals in their twenty-five La Liga games this term, with Robert Lewandowski leading an attack with twenty goals in the top flight.
It has now been fifteen consecutive games in all competitions for Barcelona in terms of finding the net, with the last occasion they failed to find the net being a 1-0 reverse at home to Leganes. There have been plenty of goals in the Champions League too, including a 3-2 success at Borussia Dortmund along with that famous 5-4 winning scoreline.
Benfica’s tactics have to be attacking considering that they can’t set up defensively considering that there’s a second leg at the Nou Camp to be played. It has been fourteen games in all competitions that Bruno Lage’s side have found the net and that includes a 2-0 away win against Juventus where the team had more shots on target than their Turin opponents.
First Goalscorer
Robert Lewandowski has scored twenty La Liga goals this season and the Pole has notched an incredible thirty-three in total. Despite being the age of thirty-six, it’s been a remarkably consistent performance and the forward bagged a brace away to Benfica in that 5-4 victory, with the player on penalty duties and there’s been ten goals in the previous twelve encounters.
Raphinha is also one of the top scorers in La Liga this season, even if the Brazilian has only notched one goal in his past seven encounters. The former Leeds forward was also able to score two away to Benfica last time out, with Benfica having some sharp shooters of their own.
Vangelis Pavlidis had a relatively slow start to the season goals-wise, although the Greek’s hat-trick against Barcelona has really kick-started his campaign. There have been seven goals in as many games including him finding the net in both of the Champions League encounters against Monaco.
Bruma could also be capable of finding the net, with the winner coming courtesy of him at Santa Clara, although Kerem Akturkoglu is another one to consider and the Turk recently returned to the scoresheet against Benfica, having enjoyed a real purple patch in the early part of the season.