Real Madrid host Liverpool at Santiago Bernabeu in the second leg of their Round of 16 tie in 2022-23 UEFA Champions League.
Real Madrid will advance to the Quarter-Finals with a win, draw or defeat of two goals at maximum, whilst a three goal loss would send the tie to extra-time and potentially penalties.
Liverpool meanwhile must score at least four goals to stand any chance of qualifying for the last eight of this season’s Champions League.
Team News
Karim Benzema is set to return for Real Madrid after he missed their La Liga win against Espanyol with an ankle injury.
Ferland Mendy (hamstring) is a doubt but if fit, he could line up in defence alongside Antonio Rudiger, who was rested last weekend.
David Alaba (hamstring) remains absent.
Liverpool could welcome Naby Keita back into contention after he missed their last two matches with a muscle injury.
Jordan Henderson (illness) and Stefan Bajcetic (adductor) are both ruled out.
Calvin Ramsay (knee), Joe Gomez (muscle), Thiago Alcantara (hip) and Luis Diaz (knee) remain absent.
When is Kick-Off?
Real Madid host Liverpool at 8pm GMT on Wednesday 15 March at Santiago Bernabeu, live on BT Sport in UK.
Stat Attack
- Real Madrid have lost just two of their nine previous Champions League meetings against Liverpool (W6, D1, L2).
- Liverpool have won just one of their three previous Champions League visits to Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu (W1, L2).
- Two of Real’s three previous meetings against Liverpool at Santiago Bernabeu have finished 1-0 with both teams winning one game apiece whilst Real won the other clash 3-1 in April 2021.
- Rodrygo, Vinicius Junior, Marco Asensio and Federico Valverde have all scored twice at home for Real Madrid in the Champions League this season.
- Four of Liverpool’s 11 away goals in this season’s Champions League were scored by Mohamed Salah, whilst Darwin Nunez and Harvey Elliott both scored two goals apiece.
Prediction
With a three-goal advantage, Real Madrid simply have their own fate in their own hands as long as they avoid a defensive implosion, akin to what they experienced early on at Anfield in the first leg before recovering with a ruthless performance.
Real will also be boosted by their strong Champions League form in this fixture and it is hard to see this changing much, despite their mini rut in recent weeks.
Liverpool meanwhile were brought down to earth from their ruthless dismantling of Manchester United as they lost at Bournemouth last weekend, which is the worst result possible momentum wise coming into this game.
Jurgen Klopp though will be concerned about how his Reds failed to break down a compact Bournemouth defence, amidst wasteful end product because I can see Real’s defence sensing a boost in confidence if they can tighten up and frustrate Liverpool like Bournemouth did.
It is also worth noting that this is Liverpool’s last match before the international break so a positive performance is vital, especially with league games against Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal to come within eight days in early April.
I though just can’t see Liverpool having enough to beat Real Madrid and advance but a win could be possible if Real rest key players, which doesn’t look likely so this could well be where Liverpool’s hopes of Champions League football next season starts boiling down to their league position.
Prediction: Real Madrid 2-1 Liverpool
Result: Real Madrid 1-0 Liverpool (Real Madrid win 6-2 on aggregate!!)
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