Champions League: Which Liverpool Will Turn up in Madrid?

Real Madrid vs Liverpool

Liverpool head to the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium on Wednesday, in the hope of overturning a three-goal deficit when they meet Real Madrid in a Champions League Round of 16 second leg.

A 5-2 thumping at Anfield makes this challenge look like a lost cause to all but the most optimistic Liverpool fan, but Jurgen Klopp’s side whacked Manchester United 7-0 last week, just two weeks after their nightmare against Madrid. But then any hopes that the Reds are about to embark on a fast finish to the campaign took another blow when they lost to relegation-threatened Bournemouth on Saturday.

Which must all be quite confusing for Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid.

Los Blancos have been on a more grounded route since these two teams last met, with hard-fought draws against Atletico Madrid and Real Betis in the league, before beating Espanyol 3-1 on Saturday.

The reigning European champions came back from 2-0 down to win 5-2 in the first leg at Anfield… and that will have crushed their opponents.  

Talking Points

Vinicius aiming high 

The latest Champions League 2023 betting odds rate both Manchester City and FC Bayern as a better bet to win the title than Los Blancos, but the way Ancelotti’s team destroyed Liverpool at Anfield suggests the two front runners should beware the Spaniards. 

Vinicius Junior, with six goals, is in the hunt for the Champions League Golden Boot. He is one behind Kylian Mbappe and two behind Mo Salah. PSG are already out of the competition and Liverpool are almost certainly about to follow them; so Vinicius is in pole position alongside Benfica’s  Joao Mario, but it’s a competitive race with Manchester City’s Erling Braut Haaland in the picture.

He scored the first two goals in the fight back at Anfield and the opener in Los Blancos victory over Espanyol on Saturday and the 22-year-old Brazilian has shown what a great player he is, stepping up when talisman Karim Benzema was injured and he has already made 141 appearances for Los Blancos.

He has a big future ahead of him and Liverpool’s defenders will not be looking forward to meeting him again on Wednesday. 

Henderson the key man for Liverpool

After such a strong performance against the Red Devils, the Liverpool players looked lost in Bournemouth. The Cherries put in an impressive performance but they had a relatively easy ride as the Reds never reached the stage of bossing their hosts. Klopp started with a midfield of Fabinho and the two youngsters Stefan Bajcetic (18) and Harvey Elliott (19) and they struggled to dominate the relegation strugglers.

This is a game in which Liverpool cannot afford to take another spanking, and club skipper Jordan Henderson knows that as much as anyone. If Klopp chooses to bring in the box-to-box midfielder, alongside Fabinho, and give one of the kids a break, then I suspect the visitors will be more compact under pressure.

Liverpool do, of course, have a goal threat. Salah has eight goals in the competition and Darwin Nunez is starting to settle as a Liverpool striker, with four goals in Europe and he has eight in the Premier League.

But I think the visitors’ aim is to emerge from Madrid with their pride intact. 

History

So this is a clash between the current Champions League champions and the 2019 champions. With 14 titles, and five in the last decade alone, Real Madrid are streets ahead of their nearest rivals, AC Milan with seven titles, while Liverpool are tied on six with FC Bayern.

Los Blancos’ 5-2 victory at Anfield has surely put paid to Liverpool’s hopes this season and that was the Spanish giants sixth victory from nine meetings with their English counterparts. In fact Real Madrid have won five of the last six meetings, The Reds’ best effort coming in a 0-0 draw in the 2021 competition.  

In terms of recent form, over the last six games, there isn’t much to choose between these two teams. Real Madrid have won three, drawn two and lost one, a Copa del Rey defeat to Barcelona, while Liverpool have won three, drawn one and lost two.   

Betting Tip 

They pulled off one of the Champions League 2023 results of the Round of 16 at Anfield and Real Madrid are favourites to win this game, at SBOTOP odds of 2.23, with the draw at 3.30 and Liverpool at 2.64.

It’s a fascinating clash which is hard to work out. It will only really come alive if Liverpool get one, or preferably two early strikes and, with two weeks before they play again, why not go for it?

Could this be another of Liverpool’s famous European nights?

The problem is that if the Reds are too adventurous Los Blancos could easily pick them off for another big tally.

But I suspect Madrid will shut this game down and, despite both teams having big score lines in recent weeks, eight of the last 12 games involving these two have yielded two goals or fewer.  

 

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