Pick and Prediction for Liverpool vs. Benfica on Wednesday, April 13

Liverpool defeated Benfica 3-1 in Portugal a week ago. This Wednesday, the two meet again, but this time, it’s in England. The venue is Anfield, where Liverpool has just one defeat in the 2021-22 season. Is there a way Benfica could change that?

The Portuguese team sure needs to try it. After all, the only way to advance to the next stage of the Champions League is to beat Liverpool by three or more goals. Unfortunately for the Eagles, that seems like a mission impossible. I think so and so do bookmakers, the evidence being that the odds on Benfica qualifying for the semifinals are somewhere in the ballpark of 33.00.

Speaking of odds, Liverpool is heavily favored not only to qualify for the next phase but to do it by winning another match. Even though the Merseyside Reds would get there even without winning, sports betting sites think they’re going to do it.

What do I think? To find out, you’ll have to read my Liverpool vs. Benfica prediction until the very end.

Oddsmakers from Betway obviously think Liverpool will win on Thursday. However, I feel the game might turn out more exciting than expected. Why? Because with a 3-1 advantage from the first leg, the Reds have the luxury to take things easy this time.

The boss of Liverpool Jurgen Klopp might decide to give his key men some rest on Wednesday. This way, he would make sure that they’re fit and ready for the FA Cup semifinal with Manchester City, which is on the program just three days after the Benfica game.

Knowing this, the odds of 1.25 may seem too short. The question is whether betting against Liverpool is worth a try?

I think it’s very likely we’ll see Klopp making some changes to Liverpool’s starting XI. Last weekend, he put his best players on the pitch to take on Manchester City in the Premier League.

It (sort of) paid off as his team got a point from their trip to Etihad – the two drew 2-2. However, the fight for the EPL title has exhausted some of Liverpool’s key men.

MANCHESTER CITY 2-2 LIVERPOOL.

ADVANTAGE CITY ? pic.twitter.com/A5Rn2Am07L

— GOAL (@goal) April 10, 2022

The good news is that Klopp has the luxury to rest them on Wednesday. That said, we probably aren’t going to see Mohamed Salah in the starting lineup. The same might be the case with Jordan Henderson, Joel Matip, and a few others.

Luckily for Klopp, five substitutes are allowed in the Champions League. What this means is that if things start to go wrong, he can always put Salah and Co. on the pitch.

However, the chances are very, very low that something will go astray for Liverpool. After all, the only thing the Reds need to qualify for the UCL semis is to not lose heavily on Wednesday.

The Eagles have nothing to lose, but they got plenty to gain. That said, you can expect this team to put all of its cards on the offense.

Of course, scoring three goals (the least) against Liverpool seems unlikely, but it would be dumb not to try it. The worst thing that could happen is another loss.

The good news for the Portuguese is that the attack is their strongest weapon. The proof of this is that in their domestic league, they’re the team with the most goals scored. When it comes to the Champions League, they’re nowhere near Liverpool but they still have a pretty decent tally – 11 goals in nine matches.

Darwin Nunez this season:
31 goals in 36 appearances ⚽️
Goals against Bayern, Barcelona, Ajax, and Liverpool?
A hattrick of hattricks in The Primeira Liga ??

Is he the striker United need to target this summer??? #MUFC pic.twitter.com/epwNaWJNrq

— Stretford Paddock (@StretfordPaddck) April 11, 2022

Darwin Nunez was responsible for five of those goals. Benfica’s star attacker even scored against Liverpool last week. Then, just a few days later, he scored a hat-trick in the Portuguese Primeira, further cementing his spot at the summit of the top-scorers list.

Being in such great form, it’s no surprise the 22-year-old Uruguayan has drawn the attention of major European clubs, including Manchester United, Chelsea, and Arsenal. If he does well on Wednesday, he’ll probably be able to land himself a fantastic deal.

By “doing well” I mean putting away at least one goal. The odds on such a thing happening are 4.30. I feel as if it might happen. However, if it does, it probably won’t matter much.

Even if Klopp decides to let the backups play, Liverpool isn’t going to mess things up. After all, this team has a very long bench packed with elite players.

However, without their best men in the starting XI, the Reds might not be able to dominate the game. Instead, we could see Benfica getting on the front foot. And when Benfica is playing offensively, this team usually scores.

Still, scoring once (or even twice) won’t help Benfica much as Liverpool is going to strike back. It won’t help Benfica, but it could help bettors!

I think we’ll see goals on both ends and soccer betting sites are giving 1.75 odds on that scenario. That’s a fantastic value in my eyes.