Football Bet of the Day: Barca to bounce back in Lisbon

Our football bet of the day for Tuesday, January 21 focuses on Uefa Champions League action from Estadio Universitario de Lisboa as Benfica host Barcelona (20:00, live on TNT Sports 1).

Hansi Flick's side have been flying in this year's competition, boasting 15 points from their opening six matches and victory on Tuesday night should be enough for them to book their place in the last-16. However, Benfica have only lost twice at home all season and still have hopes of making the play-off round after winning three of their six encounters.

Football Odds

Barca shared the spoils with Getafe on Saturday, and Tuesday's encounter with the Portuguese giants offers them a chance to get back on track.

Flick's men have shown their excellence against the best of the best in Europe, beating fierce rivals Real Madrid twice, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Athletic Bilbao. However, their league performances have left a lot to be desired, dropping points against teams that they 'should' be beating including Getafe, Las Palmas and Leganes.

The Catalonia giants tend to create plenty of chances, as demonstrated in recent high-scoring wins over Real Betis (5-1) and Real Madrid (5-2) but have a tendency to concede soft goals, losing 1-0 against Leganes and 2-1 against Betis in recent months.

However in Europe, only Liverpool (18) have won more points than Barcelona (15), and they're the highest scorers in the competition with 21 goals.

Benfica vs Barcelona Odds

Benfica have only lost one of their last four home matches in the Champions League but it's worth noting that 14 goals have been scored across those fixtures - eight for and six against. When looking at both teams to score, that bet has landed in six of Barca's last nine games across all competitions, while the same bet has been a winning play in three of Benfica's last four competitive encounters.

Benfica's Champions League campaign hasn't been disastrous by any means - they currently sit in 15th and in the play-off places - but a 3-1 loss to Feyenoord and a 0-0 draw with Bologna in their last two home European matches will not fill them with confidence heading into Tuesday's clash. Perhaps some encouragement will be taken from their victory over fellow Spanish opponents Atletico Madrid in October - an Atletico side that beat Barcelona away from home last month.

There's no doubting Barcelona's attacking play - they can carve out chances against anyone, but I don't trust them to keep the door shut at the other end as they've kept just two clean sheets in their past 11 games.

The Portuguese side romped to a 3-0 victory when the Catalans last came calling in 2021, but I don't see this contest playing out in similar fashion. Barcelona look too strong going forward, but I'm taking Benfica to find the back of the net at some stage too.

Offers

Tuesday (21/01): Place an In-Play single bet of £10 or more at odds of 1/2+ on any Champions League or Championship game on Tuesday and get £5 in Free Bets to use In-Play on Wednesday’s games. (Credited upon Bet Settlement)

Tuesday (21/01): Build your own Bet Builder bet (3/1+) of 4+ legs on any Champions League game on Tuesday and get 50% of your stake back in Free Bets up to £5 if you lose. (Credited within 24 hours)

Acca Flex: Place a pre-match 5+ leg Football accumulator and get a CASH bonus up to 100% if all of your selections win or your money back as CASH if one leg lets you down.

You can read our latest Football Bet of the Day at our dedicated Betfred Insights content hub.