Liverpool return to Champions League action on Tuesday evening, as they face Benfica in the 1st leg of their quarter-final tie.
The Reds did have slight fitness concerns over Joel Matip, Curtis Jones and Naby Keita ahead of this game, but Jurgen Klopp confirmed on Monday that the club has no injury issues. With a vital Premier League game against Manchester City next weekend, Klopp faces some difficult decisions with his team selection.
With Trent Alexander-Arnold, Sadio Mane, Luiz Diaz and Fabinho all starting on the bench in Liverpool's win over Watford, all four could return to the starting XI this midweek, in place of Joe Gomez, Roberto Firmino, Diogo Jota and Curtis Jones. So, what line-ups will both teams select and what could the final score be?
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We used FIFA 22 to get a score prediction for Liverpool against Benfica on Tuesday and this is what happened. We used kick-off mode in FIFA 22, but didn't select a team to control, we then selected the teams and watched the match play out by itself, to give us a score prediction.
Benfica vs Liverpool score predicted by simulation
We predict that Benfica could set up in a 4-4-2 formation, with their line-up as follows: Vlachodimos; Gilberto, Otamendi, Vertonghen, Grimaldo; Rafa, Taarabt, Weigl, Everton; Ramos, Nunez.
We predict that Liverpool could set up in a 4-3-3 formation, with their line-up as follows: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson; Henderson, Fabinho,Thiago; Salah, Mane, Diaz.
Liverpool got off to a great start in this game through a rather unlikely source, with midfielder Fabinho putting the Reds 1-0 up in the 11th minute. Following a corner being cleared away, the ball was put back into the box by Jordan Henderson and the Brazilian controlled the ball before lashing home a low shot into the bottom corner.
The Reds had a wobbly 25 minutes or so following the goal as Benfica responded well, with the home side pushing forward to find an equaliser. But, the away side came through that difficult period and doubled their lead just before the break, with Mohamed Salah making it 2-0.
Fabinho turned from scorer to provider, playing a lovely pass into the path of Salah in the box. The Egyptian beat a defender before firing a high effort into the roof of the net to make it 2-0.
Liverpool had sucked the life of out Benfica with that goal and dominated the next 45 minutes, with forward Luis Diaz scoring a crucial third goal. Salah did brilliantly on the right to get to the byline before firing a cross into the middle, where Diaz was waiting to acrobatically finish from close range.
And to cap off what was turning into a brilliant night for Liverpool, substitute James Milner made it 4-0 after firing in an effort from the edge of the area. The Reds had taken apart Benfica in Portugal.
FIFA 22 predicted final score: Benfica 0-4 Liverpool
Here are the full-time match stats.
FIFA 22 predicts that Liverpool could run riot against Benfica on Tuesday evening, with Fabinho, Salah, Diaz and Milner predicted to be amongst the goals for Jurgen Klopp's side. But, the game also predicts that Liverpool may need to get through a difficult period following the opener, which could turn out to be very important in the overall picture of the tie.
YOUR SHOUT: Pick your Liverpool team for Benfica quarter-final in Champions League
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