Benfica - FC Barcelona: Confirmed Lineups - Champions League 24/25

OFFICIAL: The starting lineups for FC Barcelona under Hansi Flick and Benfica under Bruno Lage for the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16 2024/25 have been confirmed.

In order to strike first in the tie, Hansi Flick put all his cards on the table. Pau Cubarsí returns to the center of defense to partner with  Iñigo Martínez, while Alejandro Balde returns to the left-back position. On the other hand, Frenkie de Jong regains his starting position in midfield and will be alongside Pedri and Dani Olmo. The rest of the lineup will consist of the 'untouchables' of the German coach.

FC Barcelona Lineup

• Starting XI: Szczesny (G); Koundé, Pau Cubarsí, Íñigo Martínez, Balde; Frenkie de Jong, Pedri, Dani Olmo; Lamine Yamal, Raphinha, Lewandowski.
• Bench: Iñaki Peña (G); Araujo; Ferran Torres; Ansu Fati; Pablo Torre; Fermín López; Casadó; Pau Víctor; Eric García; Kochen (G); Héctor Fort; Gerard Martín.
• Injured: Ter Stegen; Marc Bernal; Andreas Christensen.
• Unavailable due to fever:  Gavi.
• Suspended: None.

Significant changes in the eleven that played against Real Sociedad on matchday 26 of LaLiga:

1. Pau Cubarsí will form a central duo with Iñigo Martínez
2. Alejandro Balde returns to the left-back position instead of Gerard Martín
3. Frenkie de Jong regains his starting position in the pivot, Casadó returns to the bench

The Barça aims to lay the first stone on their path to the quarter-finals of the Champions taking advantage of their spectacular form. The culés remain unbeaten in 2025, with a brutal record of 12 victories and 3 draws in the 15 matches played so far. The team hopes to reaffirm their good feelings in a stadium where they already know how to win this season, as it was in Lisbon where they achieved that historic comeback in the league phase (4-5), so they hope to repeat this result to face the return leg with greater calm.

For that reason, Flick has come out with all his 'weapons' for the Round of 16 clash. Iñigo Martínez and Pau Cubarsí will form a central duo, while Frenkie de Jong returns to the pivot and will accompany Dani Olmo and Pedri in midfield. In attack, Lamine Yamal, Raphinha and Lewandowski are untouchable. Injured are Ter Stegen, Andreas Christensen and Marc Bernal  and unavailable due to fever Gavi.

Benfica Lineup

• Starting XI: Anatolii Trubin, Álvaro Carreras, Nicolás Otamendi, António Silva, Tomás Araújo, Orkun Kökçü, Leandro Barreiro, Fredrik Aursnes, Andreas Schjelderup, Vangelis Pavlidis, Kerem Aktürkoglu.
• Bench: (coming soon).