(Football news) Liverpool are in pole position to qualify for the semi-finals of the Champions League, having already defeated Benfica 3-1 in the first leg. The Reds will welcome the Portuguese side for the quarter-final tie on Wednesday night and will hope to get a favourable result to keep their quadruple hopes alive. 

It’ll be difficult for Benfica to overturn a two goal deficit, especially at Anfield but the Liverpool defenders will be vary of Nunez, who scored all three goals in his side’s 3-1 win over Belenenses to extend his tally to 31 goals in the season. History is on their side as well, as they are one of only two teams to have beaten Liverpool by at least two goals in a European knockout game, winning 2-0 in the Round of 16 in the 2005/06 season. 

However, Benfica’s current form away in the Champions League is less than impressive with only two wins from 12 games although they have managed to keep five clean sheets in six away games this season. In terms of injuries, Jurgen Klopp has a fully fit squad at his disposal but the German is expected to rest some big names considering that they are in pole position to go through. 

The likes of Takumi Minamino, Harvey Elliott, Divock Origi and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain did not play against Manchester City and could feature in some capacity while Roberto Firmino and Luis Diaz could feature instead of Sadio Mane and Diogo Jota. Benfica also have an almost fully fit squad except for Lucas Verissimo who is unavailable due to a cruciate ligament injury while Rodrigo Pinho and Rafa Silva will also be unavailable. 

After serving his domestic ban, Jan Vertonghen is also available for selection and is expected to feature alongside Nicolas Otamendi. With many players rested for Benfica over the weekend, the likes of Gilberto, Alex Grimaldo, Julian Weigl and Goncalo Ramos are expected to feature in the starting XI this time around.

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