Benfica take on the visitors Liverpool in the first leg of Champions League’s quarterfinals. The match will be played on Tuesday, April 5th at Estádio da Luz (Lisbon).
Benfica are rightfully considered as one of the local giants of Portuguese football. And they did not hesitate to spend a lot of money both in 2020 and 2021, inviting curious players. In domestic league the team from Lisbon lagged behind both Porto and even Sporting. It is already clear that here, despite the change of Jorge Jesus to Nelson Verissima, it will still not be possible to climb even to 2nd place. But Braga, despite the victory in the last round of Primeira, will also not catch up with the Eagles. In the end, all that remains is to try to save the season at the expense of the Champions League. Here the Portuguese look unexpectedly successful. Despite the fact that they started in qualifying, it is Benfica that remains the last representative of the country in the main European Cup. At first they managed to get around Barcelona in the group, and gained 4 points with the Catalan giants. And then, in the 1/8 finals, Ajax were stopped in style.
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Liverpool are in a difficult situation. We should not forget that at the weekend they have an important, key match in the Premier League against Manchester City. There is only 1 point between the teams, and Pep Guardiola's men are still ahead - and, therefore, you need to think about how to win at the Etihad. At the same time, how will Jurgen Klopp build both tactics and squad in Lisbon? On the one hand, he understands that everything will be decided in the return match, at Anfield. So pragmatically, you can play in Lisbon, focusing on not losing - and already at home “close the case”. But, on the other hand, the British accustomed to their successes. After all, they started this Champions League season with 7 wins in a row. At first, they managed to demonstrate a 100% result in the group stage - despite the fact that they were rivals of Porto, Milan and Atlético, who also made it to the 1/4 finals of the Champions League. And then, just on the road, having won 2-0 at Giuseppe Meazza, they secured place in quarterfinals. Of course, it is tempting to repeat, but, most likely, the German manager will apply the rotation that is already familiar to him.
The history of confrontations is rich and has been going on since 1978. But let's mention Benfica's elimination of Liverpool in 2006, in the playoffs of the Champions League, and the English revenge in 2010, in the Europa League. Then, losing 1-2 in Lisbon, the Merseyside’s team defeated the Eagles in England 4-1. Lucas Verissima, Pigna and Taarabt will not play for Benfica. Liverpool have all players available.
Prediction for the match: Benfica to win with +1.5 handicap.
