With the race for the final Champions League qualifying position the tightest it has been for years, Benitez has admitted there is no room for error.
"Manchester City, Tottenham and Aston Villa will be very dangerous so we cannot make many mistakes," said the boss.
"We know last year was really good in terms of points in the league (86) and now we are in a different and more difficult situation because the expectations were very high.
"It is really difficult because we have three or four teams really close."