Barça is playing today a large part of its options to be in the next phase of the Champions League. The culés are occupying the second place in their group that would give access to the eighth, so they depend on themselves to qualify.
The azulgrana team faces their rival for that place today, Benfica, so they will have to win to breathe easily, since if they beat the Portuguese they will qualify directly for the next round, regardless of the result they obtain in the last match. of the group stage that would remain. Barça plays at the Nou Camp against a team that a priori is inferior, such as Benfica, so victory should not escape them. It will be Xavi’s first final, when the coach has only been in charge of the team for a few weeks. Even so, if the Catalans, they could be worth other results if he does not win today.
Barça could make a good draw, if later they managed to win the game that remains of the group stage. The downside is that this match is against the almighty Bayern Munich, which, although they are already classified, could motivate them a victory against Barça to leave them out of the Champions League early. Although for that, Benfica would have to win their game, which although a priori is superior to Dynamo Kiev, already lost two points when they drew in their first match against the Ukrainians.
A defeat would leave them in a difficult position, since in that scenario they would not depend on themselves. They would have to beat Bayern and wait for a puncture from Benfica no matter what. Therefore, the best thing is that today the Catalans give everything to win and be able to face the remainder of the year with peace of mind.
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