The forgotten ex-Newcastle United man aiming to shock Liverpool in Champions League tie

Benfica are aiming to pull off one of the greatest Champions League comebacks when they face Liverpool at Anfield tonight.

Jurgen Klopp’s Reds are firmly in control of the quarter-final tie having clinched a 3-1 aggregate lead from the first-leg in Portugal.

The winners will face La Liga side Villarreal, who shocked Germain giants Bayern Munich with an 88th-minute winner on Tuesday evening, in the last four.

Indeed, Benfica could well take some inspiration from the Spanish outfit’s heroics, with them too planning to upset quadruple-chasing Liverpool.

Valentino Lazaro in the Benfica squad

And among the Portuguese side’s ranks is former Newcastle United loanee Valentino Lazaro.

The Austria international spent the second-half of the 2019/20 Premier League campaign on loan at St James’ Park from Inter Milan.

Lazaro, however, was largely under-used by then-manager Steve Bruce as he made just 15 appearances, only four of which were starts.

He did manage to find the net twice during away wins at West Brom and Bournemouth but his loan went down as rather unsuccessful.

The 26-year-old spent last season on loan at Borussia Monchengladbach before joining Benfica, who have an option to buy him this summer.

Lazaro is unlikely to start tonight having made just one Champions League start so far but is in line for a cameo appearance from the bench.

The winger started in The Eagles’ 3-1 win over Belenenses SAD on Saturday as boss Nelson Verissimo rested a number of first-team regulars.

Another player to keep an eye on

Another player Newcastle fans may keep a keen eye on is striker Darwin Nunez.

Nunez, who has scored a staggering 31 goals in 36 appearances this season, has been linked with a move to Tyneside.

The Uruguayan, however, is attracting interest from several European clubs, meaning United would face a huge task to land the 22-year-old.