BARCELONA will look to secure qualification to the Champions League knockout stages when they welcome Benfica to the Camp Nou on Tuesday night.
The Catalan giants opened their continental campaign with heavy defeats against Bayern Munich and Benfica, but a pair of back-to-back wins over Dynamo Kiev have put Barca in a strong position to seal their passage to the last-16.
Xavi takes charge of Barcelona for the first time at home in the Champions League when the Portuguese powerhouses visit this midweek..
The legendary Spaniard got off to a winning start with a 1-0 success over Espanyol in La Liga on Saturday and will hope to follow that up with a victory over the Eagles.
Benfica were in a strong position in Group E after two rounds of fixtures but they have much work to do if they are to qualify after suffering two heavy defeats at the hands of runaway leaders Bayern.
Jorge Jesus rested a number of key players for Friday's 4-1 stroll to success over Pacos Ferreira in Taca de Portugal, but the Benfica boss will almost certainly recall his big-hitters for this crunch clash.
Outright Betting
Barcelona are 7/10 favourites with SBK to make it three Group E wins on the spin, an outcome that would assure the hosts of a place in the last-16.
Benfica ran out 3-0 winners in the reverse fixture and the visitors can be backed here at a chunky 22/5 (SBK) while a share of the spoils pays 31/10 (SBK) with the same bookmaker.
Betting Angles
Barcelona are worthy favourites here but they are unlikely to have things all their own way so I'm going to steer clear of the 1×2 betting.
Instead, I'll delve into the anytime goalscorer market and take the 21/20 on offer with BoyleSports for Barcelona forward Memphis Depay to make the net bulge.
Whilst he's yet to get off the mark in 2021-2022 Champions League, Depay has chipped in with seven strikes in 13 appearances in La Liga this season.
What's more, after scoring for his country against Norway last midweek, Depay finished as the 12-goal top scorer in European qualifying for World Cup 2022.
The in-from Dutchman has since scored the first goal of the Xavi era and he will smell blood when faced with a Benfica backline that have managed just one clean sheet across their last nine matches in all competitions.
With that in mind, coupled with Depay being the designated penalty-kick taker, I'll happily back the Holland hitman to continue his hot-streak in front of goal on Tuesday night.
I'll also dip into the player card market and have nibble on the 7/4 with UniBet for Nicolás Otamendi to go into the referees notebook.
The veteran defender, who is priced up at odds-on elsewhere, remains a master of the dark arts and looks like a prime candidate add to his tally of two cards in three Group E appearances this season so far.
This UEFA Champions League match between Barcelona and Benfica will be played on Nov 23, 2021 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Barcelona vs Benfica prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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