FC Bayern and Lisbon giants Benfica cross swords for only the fourth time despite both having a long European Cup tradition. The German record champions prevailed in all three previous encounters with their Portuguese counterparts, going through to a cup final every time: in the European Cup in 1975/76 and 1981/82 and in the UEFA Cup in 1995/96. The history of the fixture falls heavily in favour of the Bavarians at four wins and two draws, with 16 goals scored and four conceded.
Unbeaten at home to Portuguese sides
FC Bayern take on a team from Portugal in a home match for the 12th time, buoyed by a strong record of nine victories and two draws. The overall stats against Portuguese sides are also clearly in favour of the men from Munich, who have only lost two out of 24 encounters and won 14, with eight games ending in a draw. The Bavarians have scored 55 and conceded 18 goals. Most recently FCB crossed swords with a Portuguese team last season, a 3-1 reverse and a 6-1 victory against Porto in the Champions League quarter-finals.
Balanced record for Benfica against German sides
Benfica have won 12 and lost 15 of 40 encounters with German teams, with 13 games ending in a draw. The Portuguese record champions have scored 45 and conceded 59 goals. Benfica struggled especially on foreign soil, losing 13 out of 21 matches, winning two and drawing six times. The last encounter with a team from Germany dates back to the 2014/15 season, a 0-0 draw and a 3-1 reverse against Bayer Leverkusen in the group phase.
Stronghold Allianz Arena
FC Bayern will be encouraged by an impressive home streak in Europe's elite club competition. The men from Munich have won all of their last ten matches at the Allianz Arena, scoring a whopping 40 goals and conceding only six. The last defeat dates back to April 2014, a 4-0 reverse in the semi-final return against Real Madrid. Bayern have ultimately prevailed in all of the last seven European knockout rounds which began with FCB at home.
Benfica’s poor record in quarter-finals
Benfica are CL last eight hopefuls for the fourth time but have never gone through to the semi-finals. Most recently the Portuguese table-toppers lost to Chelsea, who went on to win the competition, in the 2011/12 season. Benfica have yet to win a quarter-final match, losing four and drawing two times.
Suspension risk for FCB trio
Three Bayern players hope to avoid yellow cards in the first leg as they would be suspended for the return on collecting another booking. Robert Lewandowski, Arturo Vidal and Joshua Kimmich would be onlookers in Lisbon on 13 April should they collect a yellow card in the first leg. Four Benfica players have to watch out as well: Jonas, Gonçalo Guedes, Luisão and Pizzi have also collected two bookings so far.
Pole to referee
Szymon Marciniak will be the man with the whistle for Tuesday's quarter-final first leg between FC Bayern and Benfica. The 35-year-old Pole takes charge of a Champions League fixture for the eighth time. It is the first time he will oversee a match involving FC Bayern.
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