Benfica vs Liverpool Preview

Ajax slayers Benfica will welcome Liverpool to the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon this Tuesday for the first leg of their quarter-final round of the 2021/22 Champions League season.

The hosts have enjoyed a remarkable UCL campaign this season first qualifying from their group ahead of Barcelona and then beating a more superior Ajax team 3-2 on aggregate thanks to a 1-0 away win in Amsterdam.

They will look to continue that remarkable run by beating one of the competition’s heavyweights Liverpool in the first leg.

However, they come into this tie on the back of a bad result; a 3-2 loss to Braga that leaves them trailing Primeira Liga’s leaders Porto by 12 points.

But their run of five home games without defeat in all competitions (W3, D2) should be a source of encouragement for them, while a run of four wins from their last five games against Liverpool will also give them the much-needed boldness to take on their visitors.

For Liverpool, they will look to avoid back-to-back defeats in the UCL when they travel to Portugal on Tuesday.

Jurgen Klopp’s side lost their last UCL game to Inter Milan (1-0) but will be looking to assert their authority in this first leg.

They come into this tie on the back of a professional 2-0 win over Watford over the weekend. That win, which was secured by goals from Diogo Jota and Fabinho, kept the Reds’ quest for a historic quadruple alive as they trail PL leaders Manchester City by a point.

Given their recent record, they come into this fixture as favourites. They have lost just one of their last 20 games (W17, D2) and are unbeaten in their last nine away games in all competitions (W8, D1).

Liverpool have also kept seven clean sheets from their last ten games in all competitions and will fancy their chances of recording another shutout in this tie.