Benfica v Barcelona

Benfica vs Barcelona Preview

Benfica collected a fourth win on the trot in all competitions in the Portuguese top flight on Friday night when the hosts recorded a comprehensive 4-0 home win against Famalicao and Tuesday night's hosts will be looking to make it five victories on the bounce at their Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica.

Barcelona extended their unbeaten run in all matches to five games over the weekend in La Liga as they were held to a 1-1 draw away from home at Getafe which followed four wins on the trot themselves, so Hans Flick's side will also be in confident mood heading into this upcoming Champions League tie.

Prior to their resounding 4-0 victory over Famalicao last time out in the domestic Primeira Liga, Benfica had registered wins against Sporting Braga 3-0 and Sporting Lisbon on penalties (both in the Taca da Liga) along with a 3-1 win away from home at Farense (in the Taca de Portugal), so goals have also been fairly evident in recent times.

The bigger picture shows Benfica have been handed just two defeats in their previous 15 matches in all competitions which were to Sporting Lisbon and Sporting Braga in the domestic top flight, while also collecting no fewer than 11 wins in the process as well.

Barcelona had to make do with just a point last time out in the Spanish top flight over the weekend when they were held to a 1-1 draw away from home at Getafe, but having collected four wins on the trot beforehand, the Spanish visitors will still be upbeat about their chances here.

The Spanish side had previously recorded wins against Barbastra 4-0 in the Copa del Rey, Athletic Bilbao and Real Madrid 2-0 and 5-2 in the Super Cup along with a crushing 5-1 home win against Real Betis in the Copa del Rey, which underlines Hans Flick's side's recent good form.

The wider picture shows Barcelona have suffered just four defeats within their last 21 matches overall in all competitions which includes picking up 14 wins along the way as well.

On the Champions League front, Benfica have managed to capture just four wins from their last 14 ties at this level, whilst slipping to seven defeats as well, while Barcelona have suffered just two defeats in their last 10 ties in this elite European competition along with racking up seven wins.

Benfica v Barcelona Verdict

Benfica sit in 15th place in the Champions League table and three points adrift of the top eight clubs, while Barcelona occupy second place and just three points behind the league table leaders, Liverpool, and with a superior recent record in the Champions League, Barcelona look the more likely here.

Therefore, our main bet will be Barcelona win @ 1.95

Other side bets worth considering:

Barcelona win & Over 2 goals @ 2.37 Correct Score: Barcelona 2-1 @ 9.00