Liverpool vs Real Madrid Preview – Prediction & Potential line-ups

In the latest Champions League fixtures, Liverpool will welcome Real Madrid to Anfield on Tuesday for the first-leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie. 

The Reds made a disappointing start to their European campaign, suffering a 4-1 thrashing at Napoli in their opening group match. 

However, they made a remarkable comeback to win all their subsequent five games to be level on points with the Blues. 

Jurgen Klopp’s side will enter Tuesday’s clash on the back of an impressive 2-0 victory over Newcastle United in the Premier League. 

Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo fired two early goals in the St. James Park encounter and that proved to be sufficient for them to pick up their second successive league win. 

Real Madrid, on the other hand, condemned Osasuna to a 2-0 defeat at the weekend, with Federico Valverde and Marco Asensio on the scoresheet. That was their fourth consecutive victory across all competitions. 

But despite their recent good results, Los Blancos are still eight points behind leaders Barcelona in the table. 

Match Preview 

Liverpool 

Liverpool’s record against Real Madrid has been terrible, with the Reds winless in their previous six meetings with their Spanish rivals. 

The Premier League outfit met Los Blancos in the Champions League final last year. Vinicius Junior scored the decisive goal while Thibaut Courtois made a sensational string of saves to help Real win by 1-0. 

The Merseyside giants will be looking for revenge this week when they host Carlo Ancelotti’s side for the first-leg of the round of 16 tie. They are set to face one of the toughest opponents in Real but with several of their key players returning from injury in top Liverpool news, Jurgen Klopp’s men will be hopeful of victory on Tuesday.  

Real Madrid 

Carlo Ancelotti’s side look unlikely to defend their La Liga title, with Barca currently eight points ahead of them in the table. They will be looking for success in Europe this season as they have already claimed 16 Champions League titles to be the most successful in the competition’s history. 

Los Blanco’s top spot in Group F looked in danger after they lost 3-2 at RB Leipzig in October. However, the 5-1 thumping of Celtic on the final day saw them qualify to the knockouts as group winners. 

Liverpool vs Real Madrid Potential line-ups 

Liverpool: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson; Bajcetic, Fabinho, Henderson; Salah, Gakpo, Jota

Real Madrid: Courtois; Carvajal, Militao, Rudiger, Alaba; Ceballos, Camavinga, Modric; Valverde, Benzema, Vinicius Jr

Liverpool vs Real Madrid Prediction 

Both teams have plenty of quality in their squads. But we are more inclined to think Liverpool will edge the Anfield contest on Tuesday as they have been superb in their previous two Premier League matches. 

Liverpool 2-1 Real Madrid