Liverpool will jet to Spain more in hope than expecation as they look to overhaul a three-goal deficit against Real Madrid in the Champions League last 16 on Wednesday night.
Real Madrid vs Liverpool: Wednesday, 8:00pm
Date, KO time and TV coverage
Champions League, round of 16, second leg, Wednesday, March 15, Kick-off 8pm, live on BT Sports
Predicted score
- Real Madrid 2-2 Liverpool
Suggested bets
- Liverpool to score first
- Real Madrid to draw with Liverpool
- Real Madrid vs Liverpool over 3.5 goals
Key stats
- Real Madrid have won six of their last seven matches against Liverpool in all competitions
- Liverpool have lost 10 of their 19 away games in all competitions
- Real Madrid have lost just twice (to Barcelona) at home all season in all competitions
- Holders Real Madrid have won the trophy five times in the last nine seasons
Team news
Karim Benzema will return to the starting XI after missing the win over Espanyol. Ferland Mendy and David Alaba are absent for Real Madrid due to injury, so Eduardo Camavinga may deputise at left-back. Federico Valverde might also be given the nod over Rodrygo on the right.
Arthur is set to take his place on the bench again, while Naby Keita is a doubt. Jordan Henderson and Fabinho are expected to start in midfield and Diogo Jota could start after replacing Harvey Elliott at half-time at Bournemouth.
Real Madrid vs Liverpool – Verdict
Liverpool are no strangers to famous Champions League comebacks having fought back from 3-0 down to defeat AC Milan in the final in 2005. And more recently in 2019, they were 3-0 down to Barcelona, but won 4-0 at Anfield to progress to the final.
But they will have to top that at the Bernabeu after a first leg which turned sour after 20 minutes. The Reds were 2-0 up but Real stepped on the gas to run up a more than useful 5-2 advantage.
On Wednesday they will be hoping that they can put on a repeat performance similar to past glories and also get back to the type of form that saw them slam seven goals past Manchester United.
Liverpool will try and expose any home complacency but under Ancelotti, Real will be well aware of the threat Klopp’s men can pose. Ancelotti also experienced a Chelsea fightback last season after Real won 3-1 at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea could not quite muster a rousing comeback but they did win the game.
Klopp’s initial target will be to score first, then win, then win by three. They are more than capable of doing the first two, but Real are experienced and hard to ruffle – so expect them to get stronger as the game goes on.
The Reds cannot be too gung-ho early on either or else they risk being humiliated over the two legs. Liverpool have not had the solid platform to build on away from home this season and if Virgil van Dijk has an off night – and he’s experienced a few this season – then Liverpool could be on the end of another hiding.
One of the problems Liverpool have is that away from home this season they have been poor. The shock defeat on the south coast last weekend shows just how fragile the Reds have been on their travels.
They were beaten convincingly by Napoli, but did win at Rangers and Ajax in the competition. And they know if they concede a goal then their hopes of progressing are virtually non-existent.
Expect a streetwise Madrid side who do not have to come forward. They can afford to sit deep and try to pick off the visitors on the counter-attack.
Madrid don’t offer too much value, bearing in mind a defeat could take them through, while Liverpool’s away form is not the basis to have a serious punt on the visitors, so a draw looks a decent play.
It does promise to be another entertaining game with plenty of goals; it might just be that Liverpool don’t get enough to come back from their first-leg nightmare.
