Benfica vs Barcelona: TV channel, live stream, team news & prediction

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Barcelona will be looking to bounce back from their painful 3-0 defeat to Bayern Munich on Champions League Matchday 1 when they travel to Lisbon to take on Benfica on Wednesday.

The Eagles are flying high domestically, winning each of their opening seven Primeira Liga games but they drew their European opener with Dynamo Kyiv 0-0 earlier this month.

Here is everything you need to know ahead of this meeting between two European heavyweights…


When is it being played? Wednesday 29 September, 20:00 (BST)
Where is the match being played? Estadio da Luz, Lisbon
What TV channel is it on? BT Sport (UK), Paramount+ (US), DAZN (Canada)
Referee? Daniele Orsato
VAR? Massimiliano Irrati


Benfica welcome back Lucas Verissimo for this one and he should slot straight back into their three-man defence.

Meanwhile, Diogo Goncalves and Nemanja Radonjic are out injured with the latter barely featuring since his arrival on loan from Marseille in the summer.


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Aguero is one of many players out for Koeman / Soccrates Images/Getty Images

Under-fire Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman has a lengthy injury list to contend with. Long-term absentees Sergio Aguero, Ousmane Dembele and Martin Braithwaite are not expected back for some time yet.

Jordi Alba, Alex Balde and Sergi Roberto are doubtful too, while Pedri will face a late fitness test. The absences leave Barca short at full-back, meaning Sergino Dest and Oscar Mingueza are both likely to be fielded out of position once again.


Benfica: Vlachodimos; Verissimo, Otamendi, Vertonghen; Pizzi, Weigl, Mario, Grimaldo; Silva, Yaremchuk, Nunez

Barcelona: Ter Stegen; Mingueza, Pique, Araujo, Dest; F. de Jong, Busquets, Gavi; Coutinho, L. de Jong, Depay


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The two teams played out the 1961 European Cup / Central Press/Getty Images

These two sides first met in the 1961 European Cup final, which Benfica won 3-2 largely thanks to a pair of quickfire goals in the first half.

Since that disappointment Barça have never lost to the Eagles, winning three and drawing three of the six games that have followed.

The pair most recently faced off during the 2012/13 Champions League group stages. Back then Benfica were defeated 2-0 at home, while the game at the Camp Nou ended goalless.


Benfica have been seriously impressive domestically this season and with Barcelona having a long list of injuries, we think an upset might be on the cards here.

Barça were truly terrible against Bayern last time out and could struggle to shake off the mental scars in time for this one. This, combined with their home advantage, means Benfica have a serious chance of shocking the La Liga powerhouse on Wednesday.

Prediction: Benfica 2-1 Barcelona