Barcelona’s ‘lucky charm’ this season in line to start against Benfica | OneFootball

FC Barcelona face a massive challenge on Tuesday at Montjuic as they aim to secure their place in the Champions League quarter-finals by beating Benfica.

Having secured a hard-fought 1-0 victory in Lisbon in their Round of 16 first-leg tie, Barcelona must now get the job done tomorrow to set up a quarter-final date against one of Borussia Dortmund or Lille.

Ronald Araujo to replace Pau Cubarsi

The match in Lisbon was heavily influenced by Pau Cubarsi’s early red card, but Barcelona managed to hold off the hosts and eke out a narrow win.

Ahead of the reverse fixture, the responsibility of replacing the young centre-back falls on Ronald Araujo, reports SPORT.

The Uruguayan was the one called upon to reinforce the defence in Portugal after Cubarsi’s dismissal. Araujo partnered Inigo Martinez in central defence, and all indications suggest that the same pairing will be deployed on Tuesday night.

Another strong hint that Araujo will start against Benfica is the lineup Flick had planned for the postponed La Liga fixture against Osasuna.

The coach had selected Cubarsi and Eric Garcia as his centre-back duo, leaving Araujo and Inigo on the bench to rest ahead of the Champions League clash.

Ronald Araujo – the ‘lucky charm’

Yet to taste defeat this season. (Photo by Gualter Fatia/Getty Images)

Remarkably, Araujo is the only outfield player at Barcelona who has yet to lose a match this season.

In his ten appearances, he has helped the team achieve eight victories (against Barbastro, Real Madrid, Real Betis, Benfica, Alaves, Sevilla, Real Sociedad, and Benfica) and two draws (against Getafe and Atalanta).

During this run, Barcelona have scored 32 goals while conceding 11. Additionally, Araujo himself has found the back of the net twice, against Atalanta and Real Sociedad, both at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys.

Alongside him, Wojciech Szczęsny is the only other player in the squad to remain undefeated in a Barcelona shirt this season. Since making his debut against Barbastro, the Polish goalkeeper has recorded 12 wins and two draws, with no losses.

Araujo’s first appearance of the season also came on 4 January against Barbastro in Barcelona’s Copa del Rey debut.

Before that, he had been recovering from a right hamstring tendon injury sustained during the summer while on international duty with Uruguay.

Since his return, the centre-back has accumulated 692 minutes in ten matches, starting eight of those and playing the full 90 minutes on four occasions.

Now fully fit and ready, Araujo is set to lead Barcelona’s defence once again in a crucial European night at Montjuïc.