Benfica vs Liverpool Odds & Prediction – Champions League Quarterfinals Leg 1

• Benfica and Liverpool matchup in the last eight of the Champions League on April 5th
• Liverpool are heavily favored to win on the night
• Read below for the latest Benfica vs Liverpool odds and our betting preview

The Champions League quarterfinals get underway on Tuesday. Benfica host Liverpool in the first leg of their tie with the away side heavily favored to win the match. Jurgen Klopp’s team was handed a favorable draw, and are once again among the Champions League odds favorites to lift the trophy.

Benfica are outsiders in Champions League futures & outrights, but they staged a surprise in the last 16 by knocking out Ajax and could make life difficult for Liverpool in Lisbon on Tuesday. This is the first meeting between the two sides since 2010 when a brace from Fernando Torres led Liverpool to a 4-1 victory at Anfield. Thanks to a pair of Oscar Cardozo penalties, Benfica won the home fixture a week prior.

The winners of this tie will face Villarreal or Bayern Munich in the last four. This is Benfica’s first Champions League last eight appearance since 2015-16, while Liverpool has been eliminated at this stage in each of the last two seasons.

Benfica vs Liverpool Odds

Odds as of Apr 4 at Barstool

Liverpool is listed as short as -275 on the moneyline for this one and plenty of goals are expected at Estádio da Luz with the line set at three.

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Benfica and Liverpool Team News

Lucas Verissimo and Rodrigo Pinho remain out for Benfica. Adel Taarabt is a doubt for this one too after sitting out the loss to Braga. It’s expected that the hosts will stick with a back four with Darwin Nunez likely to return to the starting XI.

Jurgen Klopp rotated his squad at the weekend, but he’s got limited injury concerns coming into this one. While Joel Matip suffered a head injury in that match, he played the full 90 and should be fit to start this one. There’s uncertainty over the availability of Naby Keita and Curtis Jones, though neither would be expected to start.

A new look for Joel Matip🤩😂🤕 pic.twitter.com/RYM002Itlz

— Liverpool FC News (@LivEchoLFC) April 2, 2022

None of Fabinho, Luis Diaz, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Sadio Mane started against Watford. All four may well return to the starting line-up for Tuesday’s match, however, with Fabinho likely to be partnered by Jordan Henderson and Thiago in the midfield three.

Contrasting Form

Benfica have disappointed this season. Swapping Jorge Jesus for Nélson Veríssimo in the dugout hasn’t had quite the impact the club would have hoped. They have won just four of their last eight matches and fell to a 3-2 defeat to Braga a few days ago. Their defense has leaked goals — they have just two clean sheets in 13 matches, one of which was against Ajax.

Jurgen Klopp has the most wins as a manager after 250 Premier league games in Premier League history.

🥇 Jurgen Klopp – 160
🥈 Jose Mourinho – 158
🥉 Sir Alex Ferguson – 152
4️⃣ Arsene Wenger – 146

Unbelievable. 👏 pic.twitter.com/rIOcf5D93c

— SPORTbible (@sportbible) April 2, 2022

Knocking out the Dutch giants will give Benfica some hope here, but the performances against Ajax were generally an outlier in this season. Progressing from a group with Bayern and Barcelona was not as impressive as it sounds either — Barcelona were a mess at that point, and they conceded nine across two games against Bayern.

Liverpool have won 16 of 17 in all competitions. Their only defeat came against Inter in the last 16 second leg, and it’s a match they were unfortunate to lose. Klopp’s side dominated the Serie A champions, clocking 12 shots to Inter’s six and having over 62% of the ball. Liverpool have been particularly imperious on the road in the Champions League this season, defeating Atletico Madrid, Porto and both Milan clubs.

Benfica vs Liverpool Champions League Statistics

Benfica vs Liverpool Prediction

Benfica’s defense leaks goals and Liverpool have kept four consecutive clean sheets. With Diaz and Mane returning to the XI, the Merseyside club are at full strength in attack and will put this Benfica defense under a lot of pressure.

Five of Liverpool’s last six league wins have come by at least two goals. Benfica’s performances against Bayern give us an idea of how this could go.

This tie could be all but over on Tuesday — back Liverpool to cover the -1.5 spread.

Pick: Liverpool -1.5 (+107)