Liverpool face an uphill task as they welcome Real Madrid to Anfield in the second leg of their Quarter Final tie in 2020-21 UEFA Champions League.
At 3-1 down after the first leg, Liverpool need to score twice with a clean sheet if are to advance, otherwise they need three goals or more if are to progress to the last four.
Real meanwhile will advance with a win or draw, although a 1-0 defeat would be enough as well.
Team News
Curtis Jones is a doubt for Liverpool after being rested in Saturday’s comeback win over Aston Villa with a muscle injury.
Caoimhin Kelleher (abdominal), Joel Matip (ankle), Joe Gomez, Virgil Van Dijk (both knee), Jordan Henderson (adductor) and Divock Origi (muscle) are ruled out.
Real Madrid will be without Lucas Vazquez after he suffered a season-ending knee injury in a physical 2-1 win against Barcelona on Saturday
Federico Valverde (foot) and Toni Kroos are doubts but Dani Carvajal (muscle) and Raphael Varane (Coronavirus) also remain absent.
Stat Attack
- Liverpool have lost four of their seven previous clashes against Real Madrid in Europe’s premier competition (W3, L4).
- Real Madrid have won one of two previous away matches against Liverpool at Anfield (W1, L1).
- All five of Liverpool’s ‘home’ goals in Champions League this season have come after half time, despite their home leg in Round of 16 being held on neutral territory.
- All five of Real’s away goals in Champions League this season have come from different goal scorers (Karim Benzema, Casemiro, Eden Hazard, Achraf Hakimi (OG) & Ferland Mendy).
- UCL
Prediction
Given their awful home form at Anfield in 2021, Liverpool will be relieved to have ended that duck on Saturday with victory over Villa, although they did waste several chances despite great creative build-up which cannot happen here if want another comeback win in Europe.
Real Madrid meanwhile were unlucky to find themselves playing El Clasico between these two legs, especially because they were given an absolutely physical test which has clearly taken a toll on several players after a dominant first leg.
On that note, Liverpool should look to get as physical as possible with fast-flowing high tempo play which is their best hope of a comeback in this tie, particularly given Real’s shaky away form in Europe this season.
I however think that the first goal will be key because if Real opens the scoring, this will be game over for Liverpool but if the Reds can score first then they can go on and win this if they don’t concede which looks unlikely given their defensive issues.
Prediction: Liverpool 2-1 Real Madrid
Result: Liverpool 0-0 Real Madrid (Real Madrid win 3-1 on aggregate!!)