Vital Champions League: FC Barcelona and Atletico Madrid will play vital games in the UEFA Champions League group stage on Tuesday night, which could go a long way towards determining their workload next month. Barcelona travel to Benfica looking to ensure a top-eight finish, which would mean Hansi Flick's side would avoid the extra play-off round between the sides that finish between ninth and 24th in the group, giving the team two weeks in February without a midweek match to allow for some vital recovery time.
Inigo Martinez's hamstring injury means the central defender misses the trip to Lisbon, while Dani Olmo is also out after suffering a calf strain in Barca's 1-1 draw at Getafe on Saturday, reports Xinhua. Although Barca have 15 points from a possible 18, there is still work to do, with sides such as Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich sitting just outside of the top eight, but just three points behind. Barcelona have so far won five of their six matches, They have lost one match and scored 21 goals and conceded seven goals.
Benfica will also be highly motivated given that the Lisbon side sits 15th in the group, with an outside chance of climbing into the top six, but not completely assured of a top-24 finish. The Portuguese club have won three matches in six rounds, and are placed 15th in the standings.
