FC Barcelona vs Benfica: Probable lineups for the match - Champions League 2024-25

FC Barcelona and Benfica will face each other this Tuesday, March 11, 2025 in the second leg of the round of 16 of the Champions League 2024-2025. The azulgrana team seeks to reaffirm its role as favorites and secure their qualification for the quarter-finals of the competition with a convincing victory, so it is expected that Hansi Flick will put the best players he has available on the field.

Next, we review the possible starting formation, the substitutes bench, and the injured and suspended players of Hansi Flick's Barcelona.

With the aim of sealing their passage to the next round, the coach would go all out against the Lisbon team. Ronald Araujo would accompany Iñigo Martínez in the center of defense due to the absence of Pau Cubarsí because of suspension, while Dani Olmo would remain in the midfield alongside Frenkie de Jong and Pedri, with Gavi waiting for his opportunity on the bench. The offensive trident, for its part, would remain intact, and the rest of the eleven would be made up of the other 'untouchables' of the German coach. Also out due to injury are Ter Stegen, Christensen, and Marc Bernal.

Possible lineup of FC Barcelona against Benfica

• Starting XI: (25, P) Szczesny; (23) Koundé, (4) Araujo, (5) Íñigo Martínez, (3) Balde; (21) Frenkie De Jong, (8) Pedri, (20) Dani Olmo; (19) Lamine Yamal, (11) Raphinha, (9) Lewandowski.
• Bench: (13, P) Iñaki Peña; (6) Gavi; (7) Ferran Torres; (10) Ansu Fati; (14) Pablo Torre; (16) Fermín López; (17) Casadó; (18) Pau Víctor; (24) Eric García; (31, P) Kochen; (32) Héctor Fort; (35) Gerard Martín.
• Injured: (1) Ter Stegen; (28) Marc Bernal; (15) Andreas Christensen.
• Suspended: (2) Pau Cubarsí.

After the emotional blow received last weekend due to the passing of doctor Carles Miñarro, the Barça will seek to honor his memory and secure their passage to the quarter-finals of the Champions with a convincing victory. The culés remain unbeaten in 2025, with a remarkable record of 13 wins and 3 draws in the 15 matches they have played so far, and they arrive at the match with a 1-0 aggregate lead, so they hope to reaffirm their status as favorites to take another step towards the sixth 'Orejona'.

On the other side will be a Benfica that has 8 wins, 1 draw, and 1 loss (against Barça) in their last 10 matches. The team led by Bruno Lage is on the rise and this season has won four of their five away matches in the Champions, so they aim to pull off an upset in a stadium where they have not achieved a single victory throughout their history.

Possible lineup of Benfica against FC Barcelona

• Initial XI: Trubin; Tomás Araújo, António Silva, Otamendi, Dahl; Orkun Kökçü, Aursnes, Barreiro; Kerem Aktürkoğlu, Pavlidis, Schjelderup.
• Bench: (coming soon)
• Injured: Tiago Gouveia; Alexander Bah; Manu Silva; Di Maria. 
• Suspended: Álvaro Carreras.