Benfica and Barcelona will do battle in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie at the Estadio da Luz on Wednesday night.
The Portuguese giants got the better of Monaco in the play-off round, while the Catalan heavyweights will now resume their continental commitments after placing second in the league phase.
It would be fair to say that both teams' domestic campaigns have been running somewhat in parallel, with the pair both involved in fiercely competitive races for their respective league titles.
Bruno Lage’s side have won each of their previous four Portuguese Primeira Liga assignments, and they have since beaten Braga 1-0 in the Taca de Portugal.
Having not taken to the field since that triumph last midweek, the Eagles should be the fresher of the two teams coming into this first leg showdown.
As for Barcelona, they warmed up for this clash by moving back to the top of La Liga with a 4-0 stroll to victory against Real Sociedad on Sunday, in a game that brought up one of my bets.
How the bookies view it: Barcelona to boss first leg
Barcelona are firm 5/6 favourites on Boylesports to emerge from the Estadio da Luz with a first leg lead on Wednesday night.
Benfica are big outsiders at 16/5 on Boylesports to draw first blood, while an all square affair in Lisbon has been chalked up at 3/1 with the same firm.
Head to head: Another shootout in store?
The two teams have already crossed paths in this season’s Champions League, with Barcelona claiming a dramatic 5-4 victory at this venue on matchday seven of the league phase. That means Barca are edging the head-to-head, with three wins to Benfica's two.
Players to watch: Lewandowski to light up Lisbon?
Robert Lewandowski hit a hat-trick during the aforementioned 5-4 thriller between the duo in January. The Polish goal-getter is a tempting 11/10 on Bet 365 for an anytime strike on Wednesday night.
Vangelis Pavlidis also helped himself to a hat-trick in this season’s previous meeting. The Benfica ace is a 7/5 anytime goalscorer option on Bet 365.
Predicted line-ups
Benfica boss Lage could be without as many as five players on Wednesday night, including veteran forward Angel Di Maria.
Barcelona will again be without both Marc Bernal and Marc-Andre ter Stegen, while this game may come too soon for Andreas Christensen, though the Danish international is nearing a return from injury.
Benfica: Trubin; Santos, Otamendi, Silva, Carreras; Florentino, Kokcu, Barreiro, Akturkoglu; Pavlidis, Cabral
Barcelona: Szczesny; Kounde, Cubarsi, Araujo, Martin; Cassado, Pedri, Olmo; Raphinha, Yamal, Lewandowski
Anything else catch the eye?
Given how many goal-heavy games Barcelona have been involved in this season, backing the visitors to emerge victorious alongside both teams to score looks worthy of interest at 2/1 on Boylesports.
This bet would have paid out in each of Barcelona's three Champions League victories away from home this season, one of which was against Benfica.
It’s also worth noting that this combination would have clicked n Benfica's only other defeat at home in Europe this term when losing 3-1 to Feyenoord.
This UEFA Champions League match between Benfica and Barcelona will be played on and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Benfica vs Barcelona prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
