On Wednesday, Barcelona will be confronted with Benfica in the first stage of their Champions League round of 16 draw. They will start as favorites to continue to the quarter -final phase of the competition, and their chances of doing this can be stimulated in the past hours.
Barcelona has already defeated Benfica in their own backyard this season, triumph in a nine-target thriller during the competition phase. On that occasion, the Portuguese giants Florentino Luis and Angel Di Maria had started at their disposal of the midfielder, while the ex-Real winger missed a glorious late chance in the Estadio da Luz.
Benfica, however, will not have any of both players available for the first stage on Wednesday, according to MD. Both were absent in the training on Tuesday, and it is expected that neither fit will be enough to be included in the MatchDay team. They both have muscle problems that prevent them from being involved.
Benfica will also be without Alexander Bah and Manu Silva, who both recover from ACL cracks, while Tiago Gouveia is also an absentee. Head coach Bruno Lage, however, has received good news with the return of former Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Renato Sanches, who will make a comeback after two months.
Barcelona has their own availability problems prior to the first stage of Wednesday, with Gavi Doubtful due to illness. However, their problems do not seem to be equal with those of Benfica, and that is why their chances of a positive result in Lisbon that Lisbon seems very good.
It is still to see how much Benfica Miss Luis and Di Maria, but Barcelona will hope that both players will eventually leave hope in their respective positions, while the Catalans are looking for a strong start to their Champions League -Knock -Out stages.
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