Benfica vs Liverpool Game Preview, Live Stream, Odds, Picks & Predictions
Reds Massive Favorites in Quarterfinal Matchup
Liverpool is the heavy favorite to win the Champions League quarterfinal tie against Benfica and will be aiming for a fast start in the first leg at the Estadio da Luz on Tuesday. You can live-bet on the UCL and take advantage of some great markets by using our sportsbook.
Let’s check the latest news, stats, injury reports, and Champions League odds for Benfica vs Liverpool. We’ve plenty of predictions for you to consider.
Liverpool: 16 Wins in 17 Games
Liverpool begins a crucial month of April fighting for the Champions League trophy and the domestic title. The visitors have already won a trophy this season by beating Chelsea in the Carabao final. Jurgen Klopp’s troops have started 2022 facing a big gap behind English Premier League leaders Manchester City but managed an amazing comeback to close that gap to just one point.
Next weekend, the Reds will take on the Citizens in the match of the season that will likely determine the Premier League champions. They had a tough draw this season, but they won all six games in a group featuring Atletico Madrid, FC Porto, and AC Milan. The Round of 16 against Inter Milan was again difficult and, luckily, the first leg 2-0-win at San Siro was enough to send them to the quarterfinals. However, they did suffer a late scare in the reverse leg at Anfield, losing 1-0. That was their first defeat in 20 games. As we previously stated, if we take out that match with the Serie A reigning champs, the Reds have won 16 games across all competitions.
Liverpool might be a team stacked with talented forward players, but the best of the lot is unquestionably Mo Salah. He suffered defeat at the hands of his teammate Sadio Mane’s Senegal for the second time within months. Another penalty shootout loss saw Senegal go through to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, following their AFCON Final win against the same opponents.
Despite Klopp initially claiming that Trent Alexander-Arnold would take at least three weeks to recover from his hamstring issue, the right-back was on the bench against Watford and could be fully fit in time for his comeback at the Estadio da Luz. Curtis Jones and Joel Matip are also expected to be passed fit despite picking up minor ankle and head knocks respectively, but Naby Keita is more uncertain with the knee issue that he picked up on international duty. Given their superb run of form, we will include Liverpool in our soccer picks and parlays as we believe this is a huge mismatch.
Benfica: Surprise package
Benfica is one of the surprise packages of these Champions League quarterfinals. Being drawn into a very tough pool with Bayern Munich, Barcelona, and Dynamo Kyiv, the Portuguese outfit achieved a small feat to finish second behind the Bundesliga giants.
Benfica not only looks to be out of the domestic title race this season, but also the race for a Champions League spot as they come off a poor 3-2 loss to Braga last week. That means the sole focus lies with this competition as they also got knocked out of the Taca de Portugal Cup earlier in the season. Seeing a nine-game unbeaten run in all competitions come to an end is hardly ideal preparation for a meeting with Liverpool, and Benfica has never made it past the quarterfinals of the Champions League in its current format.
Benfica’s injury situation has remained fairly stable in recent weeks, with coach Nelson Verissimo being able to welcome Haris Seferovic back as a substitute in the loss to Braga on Friday night. Fellow striker Rodrigo Pinho is still absent, though, as is Lucas Verissimo, whose season is seemingly over as he recovers from a ruptured cruciate ligament. Adel Taarabt also missed the Braga loss due to an adductor issue and is doubtful. If you’re betting online, you should know that seven Benfica players will miss the second leg if they are booked here.
Benfica vs Liverpool Head-to-Heads
Liverpool has conceded just three goals in their last 13 fixtures across all competitions. Liverpool is leading the overall head-to-head against Benfica with six wins, though they lost the other four mutual encounters. The last time they played each other was back in the 2009-10 Europa League quarterfinals in a thriller as Liverpool overcame a 2-1 defeat at Lisbon with a 4-1 thrashing at Anfield.
Benfica’s overall home record against English Premier League sides is decent, recording seven wins, five draws and six defeats in 18 contests. Liverpool managed to win five and draw three of their 12 road games against Portuguese clubs while suffering defeats in four.
Benfica vs Liverpool Game Information
- Game: Benfica (3-3-2) vs. Arsenal (7-0-1)
- Location: Estadio da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal
- Day/Time: Tuesday, 3 p.m. ET
- Live stream: fubo.tv
Benfica vs Liverpool Betting Lines
Team | Handicap | Moneyline | Total | Team Total |
Benfica | +1½ -130 | +750 | 3Evo | ½-145o / ½+115u |
Liverpool | -1½ +110 | -250 | 3-120u | 2½+140o / 2½-170u |
Draw | +385 |
Benfica vs Liverpool Predictions
The visitors are huge favorites to win this leg being priced at -250 on the three-way moneyline according to the latest soccer odds while the goal line is set at three.
Klopp admitted that his side did not create enough against Watford in the 2-0 weekend victory as the players began to jell following the international break, and this may be a closer affair than the Reds would like. Still, Liverpool has a huge Champions League pedigree and is right up there among the favorites once again.
They’re the better team so winning this clash will come down to how focused the team is ahead of this clash. Their impressive winning run and amazing attacking firepower should be the key to this fixture. Salah, Diogo Jota and Sadio Mane have all been in prolific form this season, with Salah arguably one of the best players in world football right now.