Barcelona travel to Lisbon this evening to do battle with Benfica in the second round of the group stage of the Champions League. Ronald Koeman’s men took a 3-0 beating from Bayern Munich at Camp Nou in the first round, and will be keen to get back to winning ways. Benfica drew 0-0 with Dynamo Kyiv in their opener.
🏟 Estádio da Luz
📍 Lisbon, Portugal
🤝 #BenficaBarça
🏆 @ChampionsLeague pic.twitter.com/y0J9jAnKdi— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) September 29, 2021
Barcelona sit sixth in La Liga and have endured a mixed start to the season. They’ve struggled to kickstart their new era, having lost Lionel Messi to Paris Saint-Germain. They did, however, beat Levante 3-0 at the weekend and welcomed back Ansu Fati, who’d missed 323 days through injury. Benfica are top of the Primeira Liga and have won seven out of seven league games.
🚨 𝘽𝘼𝙍𝘾̧𝘼 𝙓𝙄 !! 🚨 #BenficaBarça pic.twitter.com/xPytQSNRmA
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) September 29, 2021
Koeman opted for a 3-5-2 formation for the game, with Marc-Andre ter Stegen starting in goal behind a back three of Ronald Araujo, Gerard Pique and Eric Garcia. Sergi Roberto and Sergino Dest will play on each flank, while Sergio Busquets will sit as a defensive pivot with Pedri and Frenkie de Jong either side of him. Memphis Depay and Luuk de Jong lead the line.