Barcelona resume their impressive UEFA Champions League campaign on Tuesday at Benfica, where Hansi Flick’s side could potentially book a place in the last 16 if things go in their favor.
Heading into matchday seven, Barcelona sit second in the league stage and are already assured of a place in the Round of 16 playoffs. Benfica, meanwhile, are 15th, but in dicey territory – while they’re just three points away from a top-eight spot, they also only have a two-point lead keeping them in the top 24.
Here’s what you need to know before you log in.
How to watch and odds
- Date: Tuesday January 21 | Time: 3 p.m. ET
- Location: Estadio da Luz – Lisbon, Portugal
- Watch: Paramount+
- Odds: Benfica +195; Draw +280; Barcelona +120
Scenarios
The hold they once held at the top of La Liga may be old at this point, but things are still trending in the right direction for Barcelona. Although they are fresh off a draw at Getafe, they are unbeaten in their last five games, a run which includes their resounding victory over Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup final. All the usual suspects continue to work as well: Robert Lewandowski is up to 26 goals in all competitions, while Raphinha is up to 20. Lamine Yamal, the team’s rising star, has nine goals and 12 assists at this point of the season, but the goals have come from a wide variety of people – Jules Koundé, for example, has racked up a handful of goals and assists in recent weeks.
Projected composition of Barcelona
Pena, Kounde, Cubarsi, Martinez, Balde, Casado, Pedri, Yamal, Gavi, Raphina, Lewandowski
Prediction
Barcelona are the definition of an in-form team and have no problem scoring, having failed to score in just two games in all competitions this season. They have all the tools they need to pull off another convincing victory, so expect them to do just that. Take: Benfica 0, Barcelona 3
Champions League standings
Key: Positions 1 to 8 qualify for the round of 16 while positions 9 to 24 qualify for the play-offs of the elimination phase and positions 25 to 36 are eliminated.
| Pos | Team | General practitioner | W | D | L | Girlfriend | Georgia | DG | SPT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 1 | +12 | 18 |
| 2 | Barcelona | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 21 | 7 | +14 | 15 |
| 3 | Arsenal | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 2 | +9 | 13 |
| 4 | Bayer Leverkusen | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 5 | +7 | 13 |
| 5 | Villa Aston | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 3 | +6 | 13 |
| 6 | Between | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 1 | +6 | 13 |
| 7 | Brest | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 6 | +4 | 13 |
| 8 | Lille | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 7 | +3 | 13 |
| 9 | Borussia Dortmund | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 18 | 9 | +9 | 12 |
| 10 | Bayern Munich | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 17 | 8 | +9 | 12 |
| 11 | Atletico Madrid | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 10 | +4 | 12 |
| 12 | AC Milan | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 9 | +3 | 12 |
| 13 | Atalanta | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 4 | +9 | 11 |
| 14 | Juventus | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 5 | +4 | 11 |
| 15 | Benfica | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 7 | +3 | 10 |
| 16 | Monaco | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 10 | +2 | 10 |
| 17 | Sporting Lisbon | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 9 | +2 | 10 |
| 18 | Feyenoord | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 15 | -1 | 10 |
| 19 | Club Brugge | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 8 | -2 | 10 |
| 20 | Real Madrid | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 11 | 1 | 9 |
| 21 | Celtic | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 9 |
| 22 | Manchester City | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 13 | 9 | +4 | 8 |
| 23 | PSV | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 8 | 2 | 8 |
| 24 | Dinamo Zagreb | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 15 | -5 | 6 |
| 25 | Paris Saint-Germain | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 7 |
| 26 | Stuttgart | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 12 | -3 | 7 |
| 27 | Shakhtar Donetsk | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 13 | -8 | 4 |
| 28 | Sparta Prague | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 18 | -11 | 4 |
| 29 | Storm Graz | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 9 | -5 | 3 |
| 30 | Girona | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 10 | -6 | 3 |
| 31 | Red Star | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 19 | -9 | 3 |
| 32 | RB Salzburg | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 18 | -15 | 3 |
| 33 | Bologna | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 7 | -6 | 2 |
| 34 | RB Leipzig | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 13 | -7 | 0 |
| 35 | Slavic Bratislava | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 21 | -16 | 0 |
| 36 | Young boys | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 22 | -19 | 0 |
TV program for the 5th day
All times Eastern
