FC Barcelona got some unexpected additional rest on Sunday, ahead of their UEFA Champions League clash on Tuesday night versus Benfica. But the reason why is quite tragic.
Barca’s home La Liga fixture against Osasuna on Saturday was postponed only 20 minutes before kickoff due to the sudden death of first-team doctor Carles Miñarro García.
FC Barcelona vs Benfica FYIs
Competition: UEFA Champions League round of 16, Leg 2/2
Aggregate: Barcelona leads 1-0
Preview Material for Both Sides: Team News Starting XI Predictions
Kickoff: Tue. March 11, 5:45pm, Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Google Result Probability: FC Barcelona 72% Extra Time 15% Benfica 13%
He was just 53. Garcia had only just started working with the first team this past summer. Previously, he had worked with the futsal side. Both teams agreed that postponing the match was the right thing to do, and then the match official made the final decisive call.
So now the Catalan club will grieve before then turning their attention to the midweek Champions League clash with Benfica.
And with that in mind, here is our first team predictions for both sides.
Starting XI Prediction
Benfica
Anatoliy Trubin; Leandro Santos, Antonio Silva, Nicolas Otamendi, Samuel Dahl; Aursnes, Leandro Barreiro, Orkun Kokcu; Kerem Akturkoglu, Andreas Schjelderup, Vangelis Pavlidis
FC Barcelona
Wojciech Szczesny; Jules Kounde, Ronald Araujo, Inigo Martinez, Alejandro Balde; Frenkie De Jong, Dani Olmo, Pedri; Lamine Yamal, Ferran Torres, Robert Lewandowski
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.