What will be the formation of Barcelona’s team for the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16 against Benfica?

In the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16, how will Barcelona deploy its personnel against Benfica? Barcelona is preparing for the most significant match of their season thus far, as the Blaugrana travel to Lisbon to commence their Champions League Round of 16 match against Benfica.

The first leg is scheduled to take place in the capital of Portugal on Wednesday night. In January, these two teams engaged in what was arguably the most memorable match of the entire League Phase. Barça emerged victorious with a nine-goal classic, thanks to a 96th-minute winner by Raphinha, on a chaotic, rainy night in which Benfica threw everything they had at the Blaugrana.

Benfica will be striving to secure a strong result at home in order to remain in the tie ahead of the second leg in Catalonia next week.

Barça will be hoping to play with more poise and improve their performance in order to have a less stressful night this time and secure a significant knockout win in Europe. We should anticipate another intense and chaotic match. We anticipate that Hansi Flick will organise his troops for the conflict on Wednesday as follows:

Looking for a strong away result, we believe that there are 11 players competing for 10 outfield places, with one significant question mark at the back. Ronald Araujo’s inclusion in the starting lineup for a significant match remains uncertain, as Pau Cubarsí and Iñigo Martínez continue to be Flick’s preferred centre-back pairing, despite the Uruguayan’s recent resurgence.

We do not anticipate that Araujo will initiate this one; however, it would not be a significant surprise if he were to supplant Iñigo. Additionally, there are no uncertainties regarding the assault in this instance. Lamine Yamal, Robert Lewandowski, and Raphinha will be attempting to capitalise on Benfica’s unconventional strategy by scoring multiple goals on the road once more.

In Europe this season, Raphinha has been exceptional, and the Brazilian will endeavour to replicate his performance in order to assist Barça in their second victory over Lisbon this campaign. Szczesny; Kounde, Cubarsí, Iñigo, Balde; De Jong, Pedri; Yamal, Olmo, Raphinha; Lewandowski (4-2-3-1) In your opinion,

what is the optimal formation for Barcelona to employ against Benfica? Please share your opinions, predictions, and teams in the comments section below. The obvious candidates for full-back are Jules Kounde and Alejandro Balde, and both must exercise caution against a Benfica team that wreaked havoc on both wings in the initial matchup.