La Liga giants Barcelona will not be forced to contend with the efforts of a leading member of the attacking ranks at Benfica, in the upcoming meeting between the sides.
This comes amid confirmation that Ángel Di Maria has been ruled out of the matchup through injury.
Barca and Benfica are of course primed to lock horns on the continent on Wednesday night.
In the first of two Champions League Last-16 fixtures, the latter will act as hosts, in welcoming Hansi Flick’s La Liga table-toppers to Lisbon for a highly-anticipated showdown.
Amid an ongoing push for a historic treble, Barcelona will no doubt be eager to secure a positive result to take back to Catalunya’s capital for the tie’s return leg.
And as alluded to above, on Tuesday, the task awaiting the Blaugrana has been made to look a slightly less daunting one.
As confirmed by journalist Fabrizio Romano:
‘Ángel Di Maria, set to miss the game against Barcelona tomorrow due to injury.’
Midfielder Florentino Luís, meanwhile, has also been ruled out.
Conor Laird – GSFN
