Liverpool f.c.

Thiago Alcantara has been a shining light for Liverpool this term and his Champions League situation looks very different 12 months on.

Liverpool have lost just once - and that was a 1-0 defeat at home to Inter Milan in the Champions League round of 16 second leg last month that made no difference to progress in the competition. And it's telling that of the eight Premier League games Liverpool have failed to win this season, the Spaniard was absent for six of them. And Thiago is clearly in the mood to help Liverpool this week edge nearer a potential reunion with his former colleagues. But as, 12 months on, Liverpool prepare once again for a last-eight tie in Europe's premier cup competition, it would be a major surprise if Thiago is not among the first names on Jurgen Klopp's teamsheet for Tuesday's first leg against Benfica in Portugal. Long banished have been any doubts over whether the former Barcelona graduate would be able to perform in a Klopp midfield, his performances in the closing weeks of last season ensuring Liverpool were able to return to the Champions League with an impressive third-placed Premier League finish. And, in Saturday's hard-earned victory over Watford, Thiago provided a latest showcase of why he is, when available, such an important cog of the engine room with the Reds continuing to chase down an unprecedented quadruple. A Champions League quarter-final first leg at Real Madrid should have been the ideal stage for the Spaniard to strut his stuff in his native country against familiar opposition.