Benfica star Everton is aiming to exploit Trent Alexander-Arnold on Wednesday just like Manchester City did at the Etihad on Sunday.
The Portugal giants have an uphill task of overcoming a 3-1 deficit at Anfield in the return leg of their Champions League quarter-final clash. They'll be hoping the way Jurgen Klopp's men exerted themselves at the weekend during a thrilling 2-2 draw with City could play in their favour, however.
One area they are planning to take advantage of is Liverpool 's right side of defence with Alexander-Arnold and Ibrahima Konate. Darwin Nunez got the better of the latter last week at the Estadio da Luz as he capitalised on the centre-back's blunder to equalise for the hosts before Liverpool restored their two-goal lead.
Alexander-Arnold is renowned for his world-class attacking output, but he is often criticised for his defensive frailties, especially against top tier teams. This was highlighted at the weekend against Pep Guardiola's men as the reigning Premier League champions got at the England right-back.
Jamie Carragher warned that it could be an issue prior to the match, something that came to fruition as the 90 minutes unravelled. He said ahead of kick-off on Sky Sports: "Trent Alexander-Arnold fascinates me every time I watch him. His passing, his delivery is something I've never seen before from a full-back. It's exceptional.
"But I always feel in the big games against Liverpool, it's the one area - the right-hand side of their defence - that you can potentially get at. If it is Sterling or if it is Foden, it's going to be one of the best match-ups of the day in terms of who comes out on top. It's going to be a fascinating battle."
Can Benfica exploit Trent Alexander-Arnold on Wednesday night? Comment below
And Benfica are planning to take a leaf out of City's book by targeting Alexander-Arnold, as well as Konate, at Anfield on Tuesday night, according to their forward Everton. He said: “I’ve been trying to study the opponent after the first game, looking to better analyse the individual qualities of Alexander-Arnold and Konate. I have tried to see where they have difficulties, the weak point, so that I can exploit and have a happy night, to give joy to the fans.”
Benfica will be without right-winger Rafa Silva, who has been ruled out with injury having missed training on Tuesday. But caretaker boss Nelson Verissimo believes they have good enough options to take his place. “We all know the importance he has in our team: he has different characteristics and we have to make up for his absence, but we have solutions that will give a positive response,” he said.
“We are sorry for his absence but we have a lot of confidence in the rest of the squad. We go (to Anfield) with the natural ambition of someone who believes a lot in what he is doing. We know that we are two goals down but we believe that things can change, especially if we score a goal first.
"We’re going with that ambition, despite having lost the first leg. After the analysis we did, we realise that despite the difficulty we know we’re going to encounter, we have to believe.”
