Benfica vs Barcelona Prediction, H2H and Probable Lineups - March 5, 2025
The first leg of the Champions League playoffs between Benfica and Barcelona will be played on Wednesday at the "Estadio da Luz" in Lisbon. I propose betting on goals in this match with a good chance of success.
Match Preview
The Lisbon team confidently passed the playoff round, knocking out "Monaco" thanks to an away victory (1:0, 3:3). In the last six UCL matches, the team lost only once, securing three victories and two draws. Over the past four seasons, the "Eagles" have reached the Round of 16 for the third time, successfully overcoming this barrier in the previous two instances.
It is worth noting that in the last 12 UCL matches, the Portuguese team left the field without points only three times – during this stretch, they secured six victories and three draws. Heading into the match against "Barcelona," the "Eagles" are coming off a home cup victory over Braga with a score of 1:0. Overall, the team is unbeaten in eight matches across all competitions.
In the 2021/22 and 2022/23 seasons, the Catalans failed to advance past the UCL group stage, but last season they reached the quarter-finals, where they were defeated by PSG (3:2, 1:4) on aggregate. In the current campaign, Hans Flick's squad has again reached the Round of 16 directly, finishing second in their group. The team secured 6 victories in 8 matches, drawing once and suffering one defeat.
Interestingly, "Barcelona" matches have been the highest-scoring in the main stage of the tournament – averaging 5.1 goals per game. Moreover, the "Blaugranas" showcased the best scoring performance among all participants, netting 28 goals against opponents. Over the weekend, the "Blaugranas" thrashed Real Sociedad at home and took advantage of their rivals' slip-ups to climb to the top of La Liga.
Probable Lineups
- Benfica: Anatoliy Trubin – Antonio Silva, Alvaro Carreras, Samuel Dahl, Nicolas Otamendi – Leandro Barreiro, Zeki Amdouni, Orkun Kokcu – Andreas Schjelderup, Vangelis Pavlidis, Kerem Akturkoglu
- Barcelona: Wojciech Szczesny – Jules Kounde, Eric Garcia, Pau Cubarsi, Alex Balde – Marc Casado, Pedri, Fermin Lopez – Lamine Yamal, Raphinha Dias, Robert Lewandowski
Match Facts and Head-to-Head
- The teams played each other in the group stage, where Barcelona won 5:4 in Lisbon
- Before this, in six matches, the "Both Teams to Score" bet did not win
- The "Over 2.5 Goals" bet won in two out of the last five matches
Prediction
Bookmakers favor the visitors, offering odds around 1.95 for a Barcelona win. We believe that betting on the outcome is risky here, as Benfica could surprise at home. Our prediction for the match is "Over 3.0 Goals" with odds of 1.65.
