Just in: Veteran Barcelona star to start ahead of Spaniard against Benfica | OneFootball

We are merely hours away from Barcelona’s seventh UCL league stage game against SL Benfica.

After a disappointing outing against Getafe over the weekend, the Catalans will be keen on getting back to winning ways.

Hansi Flick is unlikely to tinker much with the team and will hope that the existing set of players perform to their potential against the Eagles.

Szczesny to start ahead Inaki Pena

That said, a recent report from Polish news outlet Meczyki claims with certainty that Flick could make a big change in the goalkeeper position.

As per the report, Wojciech Szczesny will start ahead of Inaki Pena in goal tonight, as part of his plans to rotate the goalkeeper position between La Liga and the UEFA Champions League.

Szczesny is expected to start against Benfica tonight (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

Szczesny, who returned from retirement to join Barcelona following the injury of Marc-Andre ter Stegen, has featured thrice for Barça this season.

The Pole notably featured in both the Super Cup matches and has kept one clean sheet while conceding two goals.

Now, Szczesny will have the opportunity to showcase his goalkeeping prowess in the UEFA Champions League – a tournament he is quite familiar with.

The veteran goalkeeper has featured in 68 Champions League matches throughout his career. His last match in the UCL came in November 2022, when he played for Juventus against Paris Saint-Germain.

Szczesny conceded two goals in that game from Nuno Mendes and Kylian Mbappe, as Juventus lost the game 2-1.

This time around, the Pole will be hoping for his first clean sheet in the Champions League since October 2021, when Juventus won 1-0 against Malmo.