Barcelona face Benfica this evening in a crucial Champions League clash at Camp Nou. The Catalan side are second in Group E going into the game, two points clear of tonight’s opponents but a significant six off pace-setters Bayern Munich.
💪 We're ready!
🔜 #BarçaBenfica pic.twitter.com/uHNI2jW3At— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) November 23, 2021
If Barcelona fail to win tonight, it means they’ll be under pressure to get a result going into their final game of the group stage against Bayern, while Benfica will be facing bottom-placed Dynamo Kyiv who have a single point to their name.
Barcelona have endured a tough start to the season and sit seventh in La Liga at the time of writing, although Xavi’s appointment as coach during the international break has meant that the atmosphere at the club has changed and become considerably more positive. They won the opening fixture of his reign at the weekend, beating Espanyol 1-0.
Benfica are third in the Primeira Liga, a point behind Sporting Club de Portugal and Porto. Portuguese football expert Zach Lowy of Breaking the Lines spoke with Football España ahead of the game to detail exactly where Benfica are at as a club, explaining that things haven’t been perfect since the reverse fixture when they beat Barcelona 3-0 at the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon.
