Liverpool vs Benfica news: Reds can complete job and reach Champions League semi-finals

Dave Tindall
12 April 2022

Jurgen Klopp’s men did the hard work in Portugal and should again have too much for their rivals in the second leg at Anfield on Wednesday night.

After their epic 2-2 draw with Manchester City on Sunday, Liverpool switch their attention back to Europe with a return clash against Benfica.

The Reds were fully expected to sweep aside the Portuguese outfit when the Champions League quarter-final draw was made and it all went to plan in the first leg as Jurgen Klopp's side ran out 3-1 winners.

Benfica fought well at times but Liverpool had too much firepower and are now huge favourites to book a place in the semi-finals for the third time in five years.

Bayern Munich or Villarreal await in the last four.

When: Wednesday, April 13, 20:00 BST

Where: Anfield

How to watch: BT Sport Extra

Follow this game via our score centre

Who is the ref for Liverpool vs Benfica?

Serdar Gozubuyuk is the man in the middle at Anfield.

The Dutch referee has taken charge of three previous matches in the Champions League this season, showing one red and awarding one penalty.

Season stats 2021/22: All matches (35), yellows (135), reds (7), penalties (8).

Recent form

Liverpool rode their luck a little against Manchester City but still came up with two goals and showed their resilience to twice pull level after falling behind.

That followed five straight wins in all competitions, including the 3-1 victory away in Benfica.

Liverpool's only defeat since December 28 came in a home Champions League game when they were turned over 1-0 by Inter Milan last month.

That was also after they'd achieved a two-goal lead in the away leg (2-0) so there are some parallels that may give Benfica encouragement.

Benfica had gone into the first game against Liverpool on the back of a 3-2 away defeat to Braga.

Since that loss to the Merseysiders, they've bounced back with a 3-1 home win over Belenenses to keep them in third but 15 points behind leaders Porto.

Benfica have managed just a single clean sheet in their last seven games although that did come at Ajax (1-0 win) in their last away game in this competition.

Liverpool players in form

While Mo Salah goes through a surprise drought - one goal in eight matches for Liverpool - two of his fellow frontmen have thrived.

Diogo Jota has four in his last five games for the Reds after netting the first equaliser against Manchester City.

Jota also opened the scoring in Liverpool's latest home game, the 2-0 success over Watford.

Sadio Mane has wheeled away in celebration in his last two matches after scoring the second goal in Benfica and the second equaliser against City.

Another Liverpool attacker, Luis Diaz, had a goal and an assist in the first leg which didn't go down well at all with the hosts given that the Colombian used to play for Benfica's big rivals Porto.

Darwin Nunez was the one player Liverpool fans were watching closely in the first leg and he enhanced his reputation by getting Benfica's only goal shortly after half-time.

The Uruguayan has since followed that up with a hat-trick in the 3-1 home win over Belenenses, taking his tally for the season to 29 in just 35 matches.

Last three meetings

Benfica 1-3 Liverpool (April 5, 2022)

Liverpool came out fast and took control of the tie with two goals in the first 34 minutes.

Defender Ibrahima Konate scored his first goal for the club by powering in a header (17) from Andy Robertson's corner and Mane added in a second after Diaz headed down a brilliant pass from Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Konate's botched attempt at a clearance allowed Nunez to fire in his fifth Champions League goal of the season to reduce the deficit on 49 but Diaz grabbed a third for the visitors with three minutes left.

Liverpool 4-1 Benfica (April 8, 2010)

Trailing 2-1 from the first leg of this Europa League quarter-final clash, the Merseysiders turned the tie around thanks to a brace from Fernando Torres and further strikes from Dirk Kuyt and Lucas.

Oscar Cardozo gave Benfica hope with a 70th-minute strike but Torres' second killed the tie off and sent Liverpool into a semi-final showdown with Atletico Madrid.

Benfica 2-1 Liverpool (April 1, 2010)

Liverpool ultimately came through their quarter-final match-up but they made life difficult for themselves in the first leg.

Daniel Agger put the Reds into an early lead but the game got away from them after Ryan Babel was shown a red card for pushing Luisao in the face.

Cardozo levelled from the spot just before the hour and added a second penalty 11 minutes from time to give Benfica a dramatic win.

Past meetings

Benfica wins: 4

Draws: 1

Liverpool wins: 7

Benfica scored: 12

Liverpool scored: 22

Manager's thoughts

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, speaking after the first leg, said: "We're not in dreamland here. It's half-time, we know much more about our opponent, they will go for it again.

"They won at Ajax, they ground out all the results out in the group stage that they needed, so we are aware of the quality."

Predicted Liverpool vs Benfica teams

Given the balance of the tie and an FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City coming up at the weekend, Klopp will surely try and rest a few big names.

That could mean Joe Gomez coming in for Alexander-Arnold at right back.

Up front, there could be starts for Roberto Firmino and Luis Diaz, who had just 29 minutes of action after coming on as subs at the Etihad.

Perhaps Divock Origi and Takumi Minamino may also get some minutes while if Klopp reshuffles the midfield then Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Curtis Jones and Harvey Elliott are all fit and champing at the bit.

Perhaps more likely is a return for Naby Keita in place of Fabinho, who looked a little leggy against City.

Benfica boss Nelson Verissimo rested some of his usual starting XI for their weekend domestic win so could play a similar one to the side that contested the first leg.

Possible Liverpool line-up: Alisson, Gomez, Robertson, Van Dijk, Konate, Henderson, Jones, Keita, Jota, Firmino, Diaz.

Possible Benfica starting line-up: Vlachodimos, Gilberto, Otamendi, Vertonghen, Grimaldo, Weigl, Taarabt, Everton, Goncalo Ramos, Rafa Silva, Darwin Nunez.

Liverpool vs Benfica prediction

Liverpool are still eyeing multiple trophies, so with Manchester City on the horizon again, this smacks more of routine win than extravagant thrashing.

The Reds have tended to pull off bigger scorelines away from home against Portuguese opposition in recent seasons so let's try a repeat of the 2-0 win they achieved against Porto in the group stage.

Ex-Porto man Luis Diaz looks a decent bet to grab one of the goals.