Barca have not defeated Benfica at home in the two games they have played

Barcelona take a 1-0 advantage into the second leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie against Benfica on Tuesday night.

After edging a nine-goal thriller in Lisbon during the league phase, just a single strike separated the two sides last week after Pau Cubarsi was sent off in the first half. Hansi Flick’s visitors were forced to defend a little deeper in a bid to keep the hosts at arm’s length, and their measured defensive display set the stage for an impressive victory.

Raphinha once again came up trumps for La Blaugrana as his superb finish from distance proved to be the match-winner.

Flick’s side also weren’t in domestic action at the weekend due to the passing of club doctor Carles Minarro Garcia passed away in the build-up to Saturday’s game against Osasuna, resulting in the contest’s postponement.

Benfica, off the back of their first leg defeat at home, returned to winning ways on Saturday as they beat Nacional 3-0 in the Primeira Liga. Bruno Lage’s side are still chasing Sporting CP at the summit, with their deficit now just three points having played a game less.

Flick was ready to rest and rotate for Saturday’s game before its postponement, with Robert Lewandowski absent from the squad entirely due to fatigue. However, the veteran forward is expected to be back in the starting XI on Tuesday night.

Barcelona are without the suspended Pau Cubarsi after his red card in Lisbon, meaning Ronald Araujo is a shoo-in to start alongside Inigo Martinez. Andreas Christensen is also out injured.

Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Marc Bernal remain sidelined for the hosts, but Gavi has recovered from an illness and will play a part in the second leg.

Barcelona predicted lineup vs Benfica (4-2-3-1): Szczesny; Kounde, Araujo, Martinez, Balde; De Jong, Pedri; Yamal, Olmo, Raphinha; Lewandowski.

Highly-regarded left-back Alvaro Fernandez misses out through suspension. The young Spaniard picked up his third yellow card of the competition in the first leg.

On the injury front, Benfica are without Alexander Bah and Manu Silva due to ACL tears, while Tiago Gouveia has been out for a while with a shoulder injury.

Angel Di Maria looks set to miss out again and Benfica cannot call upon winter arrival Bruma, who’s started Benfica’s four previous league games, as he wasn’t included in their Champions League squad after joining the club.

Benfica predicted lineup vs Barcelona (4-3-3): Trubin; Santos, Silva, Otamendi, Dahl; Aursnes, Barreiro, Kokcu; Akturkoglu, Schjelderup, Pavlidis.