Liverpool vs Real Madrid LIVE: Champions League team news, line-ups and more from last-16 clash
Liverpool vs Real Madrid prediction
Saturday’s performance against Newcastle will provide Jurgen Klopp’s side with a much-needed confidence boost ahead of this crunch tie.
Stefan Bajcetic will face a huge task in central midfield against vastly experienced opposition, while Liverpool’s defence will have to work hard against a pacy and clinical Real Madrid front line.
Ultimately, these fine margins might make the difference in this clash between two European heavyweights.
Liverpool 1- 2 Real Madrid.
Real Madrid starting line-up
Real Madrid XI: Courtois, Carvajal, Militao, Rudiger, Alaba, Camavinga, Modric, Valverde, Rodrygo, Benzema, Vinicius Jr
Liverpool vs Real Madrid predicted line-ups
Liverpool: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson; Bajcetic, Fabinho, Henderson; Salah, Gakpo, Jota
Real Madrid: Courtois; Carvajal, Militao, Rudiger, Alaba; Ceballos, Modric, Valverde; Rodrygo, Benzema, Vinicius Junior
What is the early team news?
Luis Diaz, Ibrahima Konate, Thiago Alcantara and Calvin Ramsay are confirmed absentees for Liverpool. Arthur Melo remains a doubt as he continues to recover from a long-term thigh injury which hasn’t seen the midfielder play since Liverpool’s 4-1 loss to Napoli in the group stages.
Nunez was forced off before the hour mark against Newcastle on the weekend with a shoulder injury, with Klopp saying there is “a chance” the Uruguayan will feature in Tuesday’s clash.
The visitors will be without Mariano Diaz and Ferland Mendy with the pair out with long-term injuries. Ancelotti confirmed that Dani Carvajal has fully recovered from a lingering muscle injury and will be available while neither Toni Kroos nor Aurelien Tchouameni will feature having missed Madrid’s weekend game through illness.
Karim Benzema also missed the game against Osasuna but is also expected to return for the midweek fixture.
How to watch Liverpool vs Real Madrid
The match will kick off at 8pm on Tuesday, 21 January at Anfield.
The match will be available for fans to watch on BT Sport 1 and BT Sport Ultimate. Coverage starts on both at 7pm.
Liverpool vs Real Madrid
Good evening and welcome to The Independent’s coverage of tonight’s Champions League action as Liverpool host Real Madrid in the first leg of their last-16 clash.
This fixture kicks off at 8pm and is a repeat of the 2022 final when Madrid defeated Liverpool 1-0 in Paris thanks to Vinicius Junior’s second half strike. Thibaut Courtois was named player of the match that night due to his incredible display between the sticks and he’ll be hoping to repeat that performance at Anfield tonight.
Real Madrid have had an indifferent campaign in La Liga this season – for their standards anyway – and find themselves trailing Barcelona by eight points in the league. That means Carlo Ancelotti is likely to focus on European football as Madrid’s best chance of collecting silverware. They’re unbeaten in six matches against Liverpool, last losing to the Reds in March 2009, and will be confident of defeating Jurgen Klopp’s men once again.
Liverpool’s domestic season has been equally underwhelming. They are eighth in the Premier League and trying to get into the race for the top four but only a run of victories will see them achieve that. Another possibility of securing European football next season is by winning the Champions League. That won’t be easy but Klopp’s team have won back-to-back games for the first time this year and have built a bit of momentum going into their biggest match of 2023 so far. Can they finally defeat Real Madrid?
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