Liverpool look to avoid upset against Benfica to reach 3rd semis under Klopp

London/Lisbon, Apr 12 (EFE).- Liverpool are one match away from their third Champions League semifinal under coach Jurgen Klopp should Benfica fail to claw back from a 3-1 first-leg defeat.

The Reds have already experienced a second-leg defeat in the Champions League this season but managed to squeeze by Inter Milan thanks to a 2-0 away win to make the quarters. Benfica, on the other hand, might look to emulate their round of 16 result, when they topped off a 2-2 draw with a 1-0 away win.

Klopp told a press conference Tuesday that he expects Portuguese team to throw everything at Liverpool on Wednesday.

“What I know is what I would do — I would go for it full throttle, I would put us under pressure, try to score early.

“But now bad news for Benfica — it’s Anfield, they don’t only play against us they play against the whole crowd,” the Klopp added.

Liverpool come off the back of a 2-2 draw with Manchester City in the race for the Premier League title and it is likely that the German coach will repeat his Etihad lineup, with a few small tweaks, inserting Naby Keita for Jordan Henderson or Luis Díaz for Diogo Jota.

In the build-up to the game, Benfica coach Nélson Veríssimo decided to give several of his regular starters a break in their 3-1 victory over Belenenses in the Portuguese league, where they trail leader Porto by 15 points.

An in-form Darwin Núñez scored a hat-trick against Belenenses, having notched Benfica’s sole goal against Liverpool in the first-leg of the quarter-final. EFE

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