Liverpool host Real Madrid on a big night at Anfield as they play Los Blancos for the eighth time in the last 10 years.
Liverpool vs. Real Madrid
Champions League (5) | Anfield
November 27, 2024 | 8pm (GMT)
With 21 European Cups between them, 15 for Madrid and six for the Reds, Liverpool vs. Real Madrid is an event the world will take note of.
Though the stakes might not be as high as in the three finals they have contested, a win for Liverpool would make the rest of Europe take note of Arne Slot‘s early charge as Reds boss.
1. The state of play
Going into matchday five of the new league format, Liverpool are top of the table as the only team to win all four of their opening matches.
Meanwhile, Madrid are languishing in midtable, sitting 18th of the 36 teams. With two wins and two defeats, they are three points behind eighth-place Aston Villa.
Liverpool have a three-point buffer on eighth position, which is the lowest possible spot you can finish in order to avoid the extra knockout round.
2. Trent Alexander-Arnold won’t start
Trent Alexander-Arnold is back in training “but will not be available to start,” Slot told the press.
Federico Chiesa also trained on Friday, though only in part, and won’t be involved on Wednesday.
Liverpool will also be without Alisson, Diogo Jota and Kostas Tsimikas, all of whom Slot described as “not there.”
The coach had more positive news on Harvey Elliott, however, saying: “Harvey Elliott is in the team but hasn’t played competitive football for a long time. He’s here but not ready to start.”
3. Starting XI prediction
With Alisson and Alexander-Arnold out, Caoimhin Kelleher and Conor Bradley should start, though Joe Gomez is also in contention to play right-back.
In midfield, Slot must choose between Dominik Szoboszlai and Curtis Jones as Alexis Mac Allister comes back in alongside Ryan Gravenberch.
Mo Salah will start, too, leaving Luis Diaz, Cody Gakpo and Darwin Nunez to fight for two spots – we’ve gone for the latter to miss out this time.
Predicted XI: Kelleher; Bradley, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Szoboszlai, Mac Allister; Salah, Gakpo, Diaz
4. A look at Real Madrid
Madrid haven’t been at their previous best so far this season, but they are now starting to regain form.
With two wins and two clean sheets from two games, albeit against Osasuna and Leganes, things are looking more positive for Los Blancos than before the international break.
After Barcelona surrendered a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 against Celta Vigo on Saturday, Madrid are now just four points behind their league-leading rivals, but with a game in hand.
The integration of Kylian Mbappe into the team hasn’t been particularly smooth, though he has scored nine goals already this season.
Meanwhile, Vinicius Jr has continued to prove himself as one of the world’s best. He will miss the match, however, through injury.
5. Vinicius Jr is just one of multiple injuries
On the subject of injuries, Madrid have a long list of them.
David Alaba, Aurelien Tchouameni, Rodrygo, Dani Carvajal and Eder Militao also miss out on this one, meaning Madrid will be forced to field a potentially incongruous backline.
At the weekend, that consisted of Federico Valverde, Raul Asencio, Antonio Rudiger and Fran Garcia, but we could see the reintroduction of Lucas Vazquez at right-back on Wednesday.
Ferland Mendy should also start instead of Garcia at left-back, while Brahim Diaz is the main contender to replace Vinicius Jr in attack.
Predicted Madrid XI: Courtois; Vazquez, Asencio, Rudiger, Mendy; Camavinga, Valverde, Bellingham; Guler, Diaz, Mbappe
6. A long history with Real Madrid
This is arguably the most historical game in European football, with the clubs having competed in three finals against each other.
In 1981, Liverpool beat Los Blancos at the Parc des Princes thanks to left-back Alan Kennedy’s 82nd-minute strike, the only goal of the game.
We all know what happened in 2018, when Loris Karius stole the show for the wrong reasons as Madrid won 3-1 in Kyiv.
Back in Paris for the 2022 final, Liverpool lost again, mainly because of Thibaut Courtois’ magnificence in goal. In the end, though, the football mattered not that night as a result of events outside the Stade de France.
7. Who is the referee?
You may recognise the man in the middle, Francois Letexier, as he has refereed Liverpool twice before – most recently after their 1-0 win at Atlanta last season.
Most notably, the 35-year-old also took charge of the Euro 2024 final between England and Spain.
On this occasion, he leads an all-French officiating team, bar VAR assistant Aleandro Di Paolo. Jerome Brisard is the VAR, while Cyril Mugnier and Mehdi Rahmouni are the assistant referees.
8. Did you know?
Should Ibrahima Konate and Alexis Mac Allister receive a yellow card, they would miss the trip to Girona on matchday six.
In five of the last six Champions League seasons, the Reds campaign has ended at the hands of Madrid clubs – Atletico in 2020 and Madrid in 2018, 2021, 2022 and 2023.
Salah has scored 49 goals in his Champions League career, including qualifiers, 43 coming while with Liverpool. Of the Egyptian’s 12 goals this season, only one has been scored in the first half, a 29th minute penalty in the home win over Chelsea.
9. Mo Salah “enjoys every moment”
Ahead of the match, Andy Robertson was unsurprisingly asked about Salah’s contract situation, to which he said: “All I can say is, you look at Mo today, yesterday, he’s the ultimate professional.
“In fairness, it goes for all three of them. Mo, Virgil and Trent – who are all in similar positions – every one of them is so focused on the next game and training and preparing properly.
“They’ve been leaders this year, that’s the way they’ve done it. For us, in the changing room, I think if they can do that, then we can do that.
“We don’t get distracted by anything else, they’re not getting distracted. We’re all just excited about the game tomorrow night.”
10. Follow the match with TIA
Liverpool vs. Real Madrid is live on TNT Sports 1 with kickoff at 8pm (GMT).
TIA’s matchday live blog will be up and running from 7.15pm, with Henry Jackson tasked with keeping you entertained and up-to-date.
Come on you Reds!
