Madrid, Jan 20 (IANS): 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.
Atletico, who entertain Bayer Leverkusen, are sitting in 11th place, but only one point behind their German rivals in fourth place, meaning that a home win would give Atletico a great chance of finishing in the top eight and avoiding the play-offs. They have won four matches, for 12 points and have scored 14 goals but more importantly, allowed in 10 goals.
Atletico need to recover quickly after a surprise defeat away to Leganes on Saturday that saw Real Madrid return to the top of La Liga, but coach Diego Simeone will still be without injured striker Alexander Sorloth as his side needs to recover its threat in attack.
The presence of former Real Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso in the Leverkusen dugout should give extra bite to the game, and some may see the match as Alonso's interview to take over at Real Madrid when Carlo Ancelotti departs. Leverkusen are placed fourth with 13 points from four wins, one draw and one defeat in six matches. They have scored 12 goals and conceded five for a goal difference of seven.