Champions League: Can Real Madrid Halt Liverpool’s Perfect Start?

Liverpool vs Real Madrid

Real Madrid will renew their rivalry with Liverpool when they fly to Anfield on Wednesday night during the fifth matchday of the 2024-25 Champions League campaign.

Carlo Ancelotti’s men need this win since they are lagging behind in the standings. Real Madrid are 18^th in the table with only six points after an up-and-down start following a mixed bag of Champions League 2024 results.

In stark contrast, Liverpool are in dominant form because they’ve won their opening four games, and they’re keen to make it five wins in a row.

Liverpool and Real Madrid are coming off wins from their domestic leagues, as the former won 3-2 against Southampton and the latter won 3-0 against Leganes.

Learn more about these two proud teams, as SBOTOP discusses them in detail in today’s match preview.

 

Talking Points

Salah remains imperious for Liverpool

Mohamed Salah recently went viral for admitting he has yet to get a new offer from Liverpool following his outstanding performance against Southampton. This is not the right way to treat a club legend, especially after he overturned a 2-1 deficit by notching a brace.

The 32-year-old is the Reds’ top scorer this season with 12 goals in all competitions, and his performance against Southampton gave his team an eight-point advantage in the Premier League standings.

Liverpool are hesitant to give the Egyptian (and Virgil van Dijk) a new contract because of his age. The data shows that players tend to see a huge dip in their forms when they approach their mid-30s.

Salah will likely use the remaining months of his current contract to prove why he deserves another big payday. Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez will join the Egyptian up front against Real Madrid on Wednesday.

Arne Slot also received a huge injury boost, as Harvey Elliott made the matchday squad for the first time in over two months following a foot fracture. Trent Alexander-Arnold could also return in the rotation in midweek.

Allisson (hamstring), Diogo Jota (abdominal), and Federico Chiesa (fitness) remain the long-term absentees for the Reds.

 

Real Madrid’s injury list gets new addition

The injury bug continues to haunt Real Madrid, as Vinicius Jr. became the latest casualty. The Brazilian winger reportedly suffered a hamstring injury against Leganes, and the team has yet to disclose his recovery timeline.

Los Blancos will arrive at Anfield with seven notable absentees. David Alaba, Dani Carvajal, Eder Militao, Rodrygo, Aurelien Tchouameni, and Lucas Vazquez are also in the medical room alongside Vinicius Jr.

With Vinicius Jr. sidelined, Brahim Diaz could get a rare start, and he’ll likely join Kylian Mbappe and Arda Guler up front.

Kylian Mbappe was deployed as a left-sided winger (his favourite position) last time out, but he may be moved back at the No. 9 position out of necessity against the Reds.

Meanwhile, Raul Asencio should start again at centre-back after the 21-year-old had a decent performance yesterday. Ferland Mendy should get his starting left-back position back after taking the day off against Leganes.

 

History

After winning their first three games against Real Madrid in European competition (between 1981 and 2009), Liverpool have gone winless in their last eight meetings against Los Blancos (D1, L7).

Real Madrid defeated Liverpool twice in the Champions League final (3-1 in 2017-18 and 1-0 in 2021-22).

If Liverpool win again on Wednesday, it’ll mark the first time since 2021-22 (W7) they’ve won their first five matches in a major European competition.

Real Madrid have lost two of their last three Champions League games (W1), which is as many as they had in their previous 28 games combined (W20, D6). Los Blancos have never lost three games in a single group stage in a season before.

 

Betting Tip

The Champions League 2024 odds are in favour of the hosts to win on Wednesday. Liverpool are priced to win at 1.87, whereas Real Madrid are at 3.47, and a draw is at 3.50 in the 1X2 market.

The Reds should maintain their perfect start in the Champions League because of their recent form and their fewer injury concerns compared to Los Blancos.

This fixture has seen its fair share of relatively high-scoring games, and we might see another one on Wednesday. Other than our recommended bet above, bettors may also go for Over 2.75 at 1.68, Over 3.00 at 1.88, Total Goal 2-3 at 2.15, or even Total Goal 4-6 at 2.59. Meanwhile, a Real Madrid victory offers huge payouts since the Correct Scores of 1-0 and 2-0 in their favour are at 15.00 and 25.00, respectively.

   

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