Three talking points ahead of SL Benfica vs Barcelona | UEFA Champions League | OneFootball

Barcelona return to action in the UEFA Champions League knockout tomorrow night and will look to do away with the curse they have faced in the knockout stage of the competition in recent years.

Having finished second in the standings after the long league phase, the Catalans earned a favourable draw for the Round of 16 and a relatively easier side of the draw in the larger scheme of things.

They first face Benfica over two legs for a place in the quarter-final, the first of which will kick off in just over 24 hours at Estadio da Luz.

Barcelona beat the same opponent at the same venue by a narrow 5-4 scoreline when they met earlier this season, and if that is anything to go by, one can expect fireworks tomorrow.

Barça Universal brings you three talking points ahead of Barcelona vs Benfica.

Lessons to be learnt

Very few teams have managed to exploit Barcelona’s high defensive line this season as effectively as Benfica did when the two teams met earlier in this season’s UEFA Champions League, and it is hard to ignore the same heading into tomorrow’s clash.

It was on Matchday 7 that the two teams locked horns at the same venue as they will tomorrow, Estadio da Luz, and Benfica tormented Barcelona with immaculate play for a great part of the game.

The Portuguese outfit came out like a well-oiled machine, clear on where to apply pressure and create openings to exploit Barcelona’s high line.

They timed their runs from midfield to perfection, beating the offside trap which was otherwise leak-proof, and racked up an xG of 3.34 against Barcelona in 90 minutes.

Heading into tomorrow’s clash, all eyes will thus be on whether Hansi Flick makes any changes to his defensive setup and how he counters the known threat.

Ronald Araujo started the team’s last game, but Inigo Martinez will almost certainly return alongside Pau Cubarsi tomorrow to keep the offside trap alert and well-executed.

Alejandro Balde will also return to the lineup given his good run of form and improved alertness in the offside trap. All eyes will also be on Jules Kounde who will be looking for redemption after a poor showing in the last meeting.

The need for a solid midfield

Marc Casado or Frenkie de Jong in midfield? (Photo by Srdjan Stevanovic/Getty Images)

While Benfica’s forwards did execute their runs to perfection to counter Barcelona’s high line in the last meeting, it was the midfield battle that the Portuguese side dominated as long as they were on the front foot.

Barcelona deployed Pedri, Gavi and Marc Casado to complete duties in the middle of the park, but they were often overwhelmed by the constant pressure and immaculate combination play between Florentino Luis and the wingers.

To ensure they do not concede tomorrow, Barcelona’s midfield must thus be solid from the get-go and Hansi Flick’s selection of personnel will account for a large part of the result.

Pedri, for starters, is a guaranteed name on the team list and will be a vital cog if Barcelona are to dominate the possession and circulate the ball.

Flick’s first big decision will be to choose between Marc Casado and Frenkie de Jong. While the Dutchman did rest in the team’s last game, Casado may well provide the extra defensive stability Barcelona require off the ball.

For the third midfield spot, it is between Gavi, Fermin Lopez and Dani Olmo. Given that the former is unwell and Olmo had a great outing at the weekend, the Euro winner is likely to start tomorrow night.

Creating a cushion

Having finished in the top 8 of the UEFA Champions League group stage, Barcelona earned the privilege of playing the second leg at home.

Tomorrow night is thus the more challenging of their two legs against Benfica in the Round of 16 and the objective will be to take home a favourable result in any capacity.

Estadio da Luz is not an easy venue to take home a good result from and the last meeting between the two teams serves as a testament to the same.

Barcelona’s aim tomorrow, thus, should be on conceding as few goals as possible and even perhaps taking home a win to build on at home.

Benfica manager Bruno Lage reiterated continuously in his pre-match press conference that tomorrow night’s game is not important in the grand scheme and that only the game at Montjuic will be decisive.

Having the home advantage already for the reverse fixture, any advantage Barcelona can bring home gets them that much closer to qualification.