Di Maria and Aktürkoglu, the Benfica winger duo that threatens Barça

This Tuesday the Champions League debuts in 2025. After the restart of the rest of the competitions, now it is time for the clubs that participate in the top European championship to fight each other again. FC Barcelona will face Benfica on that day, at 9:00 p.m., at the Estádio da Luz. It is a stage and an opponent that are not at all easy. In fact, the history between both teams is very shared.

The Lisbon team has started the year in style. It has played 5 matches and won them all, including a league cup final against its city rival, Viktor Gyökeres' Sporting CP. It is second in the domestic competition with three points less than its aforementioned opponent. On the other hand, in Europe it is fifteenth in the table, with 3 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses, so it has 10 points. They will seek to beat Barça to get closer to the top eight, a highly coveted place in this new format of the championship.

Di María and Aktürkoglu, the great danger of Benfica

The team led by Bruno Lage is very dangerous. Their usual formation is a 4-3-3, with Florentino Luís as the holding pivot. The team's tendency is clearly offensive, as their full-backs tend to play long on their respective flanks and their midfielders move very well in the opposition's half. However, the jewel in the crown is the attack. Neither Pavlidis nor Arthur Cabral, their centre forwards, are particularly goal-scoring, although it is not necessary given the quality that Benfica has on the wings.

The starting duo on the wings are Aktürkoglu, on the left, and Di María, on the right. Between them, they have 23 goals and 12 assists, with a difference of 2 games, played more by the Argentine. With 'As Águias' having scored 69 goals in 30 games this season, these two players have generated 50.72% of their goals. In addition, the substitute on the left side is Andreas Schjelderup, a 20-year-old Norwegian who is in great shape and could be the surprise of the host team on Tuesday.

The two attackers who, in principle, will be in the starting line-up this Tuesday are old acquaintances of Barça, both for having been considered possible reinforcements - in fact the Rosario native was very close to wearing the Barça shirt - and for having faced them. Despite the multiple confrontations with the former Real Madrid player, the Catalan club only faced the Turk in the Europa League round of 32 tie against Galatasaray in the 2021/2022 season.

They are two footballers with a very similar style. Both play with their opposite feet, are fast and very skilled at dribbling. They also share the ability to play close to the touchline or in more interior areas. They also have an interesting positional shot, as well as a great ability to filter balls to their unmarked teammates. A priori, barring a surprise, Jules Koundé and Alejandro Balde will be in charge of defending them. They will have to be very attentive with the gaps behind them and very fine in one-on-one situations, otherwise they will have a very bad time.