Liverpool host Real Madrid at Anfield on Tuesday in a massive UEFA Champions League clash between two of the most successful teams in the history of the competition.
Trent Alexander-Arnold will of course be the center of attention as he returns to Liverpool just a few months after leaving for Real Madrid but will probably get a varied reception from home fans. While former Liverpool midfield star Xabi Alonso will get a warm welcome back as he leads Real Madrid at Anfield and it is easy to see the Spaniard one day become Liverpool’s manager.
MORE — UEFA Champions League table
Arne Slot’s Liverpool ended their alarming run of defeats by beating Aston Villa 2-0 at home at the weekend as Mohamed Salah was also back on the scoresheet which is a huge relief. Injuries are impacting Slot’s options but Liverpool’s starting lineup is still good enough to beat anyone and a win and a clean sheet against Villa should give them some much-needed confidence ahead of facing Real and their star attackers.
Xabi Alonso’s Real Madrid have won 13 of their 14 games in all competitions this season but their one defeat was a hammering against Atletico Madrid in La Liga. But they’ve won six games in a row in all competitions after that defeat to Atleti, as they beat bitter rivals Barcelona 2-1 at home last weekend and smashed Valencia 4-0 at the weekend. Kylian Mbappe now has 18 goals in 14 games so far this season.
For live updates and highlights throughout Liverpool vs Real Madrid, check out PST’s live blog coverage below.
How to watch Liverpool vs Real Madrid live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 3pm ET Tuesday (November 4)
Venue: Anfield — Liverpool
TV Channel/Streaming:Paramount+
Liverpool team news, focus
Arne Slot is without Alexander Isak, Jeremie Frimpong, Curtis Jones, Alisson and Giovanni Leoni through injury, but still has plenty of options and will likely go with the same starting lineup which fared so well against Aston Villa on Saturday. The only couple of changes Slot could make is Florian Wirtz in for Cody Gakpo or Milos Kerkez for Andy Robertson on the left, but neither of Liverpool’s new signings have impressed so far this season and Gakpo and Robertson should start again. Liverpool will hope Ryan Gravenberch can lock down Bellingham floating around underneath Mbappe and they will aim to keep the game calm and at a slow tempo so they don’t get hit on the counter.
Real Madrid team news, focus
Mbappe is flying and so too is Jude Bellingham following his return from injury. Vinicius Junior has struggled this season and Xabi Alonso wasn’t happy with the Brazilian star after his actions following the win against Barcelona and Vini missed a penalty kick at the weekend against Valencia. Defensively Real have improved drastically in recent weeks with only one goal conceded in their last four games. Alexander-Arnold will probably start on the bench on his return to Anfield as Federico Valverde has started at right back in recent weeks and Real look more balanced. Argentina attacker Franco Mastantuono is expected to be out for this game through injury, while Antonio Rudiger and Dani Carvajal are still out injured.
Liverpool vs Real Madrid prediction
This feels like it will have goals galore because Liverpool are still very fragile. Expect a beauty of a game and Real to prevail. Liverpool 2-4 Real Madrid.