The powerful Liverpool, very favorite against Darwin Núñez’s Benfica

The tie between Benfica and Liverpool is probably the most lopsided of the four that make up the Champions League quarter-finals. Jürgen Klopp’s team is today one of the most fit in Europe, capable of challenging the throne of the Premier League against the powerful Manchester City at the rate of up to a dozen consecutive wins in the demanding English championship. For its part, however, Benfica no longer has any chance of winning the Portuguese league, as it is in third place in the Portuguese championship, nine and twelve points behind the other two giants in the country, Sporting and Porto.

Beyond the doubts in the domestic competition, the ‘eagles’ have managed to show their best version in the Champions League to reach the penultimate round of the competition for the first time in six years, their all-time high since the 1990 final against Milan in Sacchi. Uruguayan striker Darwin Núñez is to blame for this, capable of scoring up to 27 goals this season. Four of them were in the Champions League, including the one that decided the round of 16 tie against Ajax in Amsterdam, a real sensation of the group stage with a historic plenary session.

The former Almería player and Da Luz’s environmental factor will try to stop the oiled ‘red’ machine, which has a trio of attackers capable of intimidating anyone. Salah, Diogo Jota and Mané boast more than sixty goals this season in all competitions and are the tips of the trident devised by Klopp, so prone to back-and-forth football and unwilling to repeat the trouble he experienced in the round of 16 against Inter, Liverpool’s only defeat in 2022. “There is a lot of quality and experience at Benfica. He may not be where he wants to be in his league, but he is a tough opponent », warned the German coach, who has the entire squad at his disposal, including the recovered Alexander-Arnold.