This season, Liverpool won all six of the Champions League group stage to advance, and the second leg of the quarter-finals lost 0-1 at home to Inter milan also advanced, because the first leg was won 2-0 away from home. Up to now, Liverpool has pressed the leader Manchester City with a 1-point difference, and will stage the Premier League title "Battle of King Mountain" with Manchester City in the next round! Before that, there was a match in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final waiting for Liverpool.
Benfica vs Liverpool
Nature of the competition: First leg of the Champions League quarter-finals
Competition time: 3:00 a.m. Beijing time on April 6
This season has played so far, Liverpool Premier League, Champions League double line advancement, The Premier League 30 rounds of the battle to remove 1 point from the leader, the Champions League has reached the 1/8 final. Will Klopp's team be like the 2018-19 Champions League season, the 2019-20 Premier League season, or the 2017-18 and 2020-21 seasons? None of them seem like that.
In the 2018-19 season, Liverpool had the momentum to win the Premier League and Champions League doubles, but in the end they were forced to get runners-up with a high score of 97 points, and the 1-point gap never caught up. Today, Liverpool is just 1 point behind Manchester City, the next round of direct duels, if not win, I am afraid it is difficult to catch up; if you win, you will naturally grasp the initiative to compete for the title.
The starting eleven are excellent, and Klopp's tactics are also excellent, but Liverpool, who have a thin squad, have a low bench depth in the Premier League BIG6, and are not the favorites to win the Champions League, even in the 2018-19 season.
Since arriving at Anfield in October 2015, Klopp's side has had a long-term poor away record in the Champions League, with no grasp of the strong teams and losses against the weaker teams.
Take Liverpool's 2018-19 championship season, in which the group stage away to Serie A powerhouse Napoli lost 0:1; the away game against the "fish belly" Red Star Belgrade, it also lost; the away game against The Greater Paris lost 1:2. Lost all 3 away games, and finally won 9 points by 3 home games, the same points as Napoli, the same record of mutual record, the same goal difference, only by the narrow advantage of the number of goals in the group second to advance. In the semi-final against Barca, the first leg was lost 0:3 away, and the second leg could be turned over 4:0, and only Barca led by Messi.
This season, Liverpool have a good away record in the Champions League, beating Atletico Madrid 3-2 away in the group stage and beating AC Milan 2-1 away in the final round. However, the home field became difficult, and the group stage home was once reversed by AC Milan 2:1, and finally won 3:2. The second leg of the quarter-finals was beaten 1–0 by Inter Milan. Milan, who have been away from the Champions League for a long time, would have had enough of Klopp's side to drink if they were not inexperienced.
In the quarter-finals, Liverpool had a good draw, drawing the only team outside the five leagues in the quarterfinals, although the promotion may not be stable, but it is undoubtedly much better than any of the other six teams.
Benfica was able to qualify from the group, very accidentally, and the luck was too good, because Barca, who lost Messi, was in an unprecedented slump, and as long as Barca lost one game in both games, or drew both games, they could not qualify for them.
1/8 finals, good luck continues. The first leg was drawn 2-2 at home with Ajax, and the second leg was able to win 1-0 away from home to advance. It's hard to say it's about strength or tactics. In terms of overall strength, Ajax is certainly stronger than Benfica, and Tenghach's tactical level is certainly higher than that of the unknown Vittoria. Benfica can still qualify, without him, only luck!
Benfica has won 6, drawn 3 and lost 1 loss in all competitions in the last 10 matches, and its record is not stable, and it can only rank third in the Portuguese Super League table for a long time.
Liverpool have won 8 wins, drawn 1 and lost 1 loss in their last 10 matches in all competitions, with a fairly stable record, and the only recent loss was a 0:1 defeat at home to Inter in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-finals.
The two sides have met nearly 4 times, and Benfica has an advantage in 3 wins and 1 loss. Of course, this is the record of Klopp's previous encounters with Liverpool, and the reference value is not large.
In the author's opinion, in this game, Liverpool will do their best to win, even to win, and even to win a big victory, even if the home defeat in the second leg can be accepted, as long as the total score ensures the promotion. After playing this game, then the next round of premier league away and Manchester City are deadlocked.