Angel Di Maria among two Benfica players to miss Barcelona clash through injury

On Wednesday, Barcelona will face Benfica in the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie. They will start as favourites to progress to the quarter-final stage of the competition, and their chances of doing so look to have been boosted in the last few hours.

Barcelona have already beaten Benfica in their own backyard this season, triumphing in a nine-goal thriller during the league phase. On that occasion, the Portuguese giants had Florentino Luis and Angel Di Maria at their disposal – the midfielder started, while the ex-Real Madrid winger missed a glorious late chance at the Estadio da Luz.

However, Benfica will not have either player available for Wednesday’s first leg, as per MD. Both were absent from training on Tuesday, and the expectation is that neither will be fit enough to be included in the matchday squad. They both have muscular problems that will prevent them from being involved.

Benfica will also be without Alexander Bah and Manu Silva, who are both recovering from ACL ruptures, while Tiago Gouveia is also an absentee. However, Head coach Bruno Lage has been handed some good news with the return of former Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Renato Sanches, who is set to make a comeback after two months out.

Barcelona have their own availability concerns ahead of Wednesday’s first leg, with Gavi doubtful due to illness. However, their problems do not appear to be on par with Benfica’s, and because of this, their chances of a positive result in Lisbon look to be very good.

It remains to be seen how much Benfica miss Luis and Di Maria, but Barcelona will hope that both players end up leaving gaping hopes in their respective positions, as the Catalans go in search of a strong start to their Champions League knockout stages.