Liverpool host Real Madrid on a big night at Anfield, where they play Los Blancos for the eighth time in the last 10 years.

Liverpool vs Real Madrid

Champions League (5) | Anfield
November 27, 2024 | 8:00 p.m. (GMT)

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With a total of 21 European Cup wins, 15 for Madrid and six for the Reds, Liverpool v Real Madrid is an event the world will take note of.

While the stakes may not be as high as in the three finals they have played in, a win for Liverpool would ensure the rest of Europe takes notice of Arne Slot’s early takeover as Reds head coach.

1. The state of affairs

Before the fifth matchday of the new league format, Liverpool is at the top of the table as the only team to have won all four opening games.

Meanwhile, Madrid is in mid-table, 18th out of the 36 teams. With two wins and two defeats, they are three points behind eighth-placed Aston Villa.

Liverpool have a three-point lead over eighth place, which is the lowest possible place they can reach to avoid the additional knockout round.

2. Trent Alexander-Arnold will not 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, but only partially, and will not be there on Wednesday.

Liverpool will also be without Alisson, Diogo Jota and Kostas Tsimikas, all of whom Slot described as “not there”.

However, the coach had more positive news about Harvey Elliott, saying: “Harvey Elliott is in the team but hasn’t played competitive football for a long time. It’s here, but it’s not ready to go yet.”

3. Starting XI prediction

With Alisson and Alexander-Arnold out, Caoimhin Kelleher and Conor Bradley should start, although Joe Gomez is also in contention for the right-back role.

In midfield, Slot has to choose between Dominik Szoboszlai and Curtis Jones, while Alexis Mac Allister returns alongside Ryan Gravenberch.

Mo Salah will also start and Luis Diaz, Cody Gakpo and Darwin Nunez have to fight for two places – we have decided that the latter will miss out this time.

Probable 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 best so far this season, but now they’re starting to get back into form.

With two wins and two goals conceded from two games, albeit against Osasuna and Leganes, things are looking more positive for Los Blancos than before the international break.

After Barcelona blew a two-goal lead to a 2-2 draw with Celta Vigo on Saturday, Madrid are now just four points behind their top rivals but still have a game in hand.

Kylian Mbappe’s integration into the team hasn’t been particularly smooth, even though he has already scored nine goals this season.

Meanwhile, Vinicius Jr. has continued to prove that he is one of the best players in the world. However, he will miss the game due to injury.

5. Vinicius Jr. is just one of several injuries

When it comes to injuries, Madrid has a long list of them.

David Alaba, Aurelien Tchouameni, Rodrygo, Dani Carvajal and Eder Militao will also miss this game, meaning Madrid will be forced to field a potentially inadequate defensive line.

At the weekend that consisted of Federico Valverde, Raul Asencio, Antonio Rüdiger and Fran Garcia, but on Wednesday we saw the reintroduction of Lucas Vazquez at right-back.

Ferland Mendy should also start at left-back in place of Garcia, while Brahim Diaz is the main candidate to replace Vinicius Jr. in attack.

Predicted Madrid XI: Courtois; Vazquez, Asencio, Rüdiger, Mendy; Camavinga, Valverde, Bellingham; Güler, Diaz, Mbappé

6. A long history with Real Madrid

That’s probably the case The Most historic game in European football, with the clubs competing in three finals.

In 1981, Liverpool defeated 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 all the wrong reasons as Madrid won 3-1 in Kiev.

Back in Paris for the 2022 final, Liverpool lost again, largely because of Thibaut Courtois’ great goal performance. However, due to events outside the Stade de France, football played no role that evening.

7. Who is the referee?

You may recognize the man in the middle, Francois Letexier, as he has refereed Liverpool twice – most recently after their 1-0 win in Atlanta last season.

What is particularly noteworthy is that the 35-year-old also led the 2024 European Championship final between England and Spain.

On this occasion he leads an all-French team of referees, apart from the 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 – Atlético in 2020 and Madrid in 2018, 2021, 2022 and 2023.

Salah has scored 49 goals in his Champions League career, including qualifying matches, 43 of which came during his time at Liverpool. Of the Egyptian’s 12 goals this season, only one has come in the first half, a 29th-minute penalty in the home win over Chelsea.

9. Mo Salah “enjoys every moment”

Unsurprisingly, Andy Robertson was asked about Salah’s contract situation ahead of the game, to which he replied: “All I can say is, if you look at Mo today and yesterday, he is the ultimate professional.

“To be fair, it applies to all three. Mo, Virgil and Trent – who are all in similar positions – are all so focused on the next game and on training and preparing properly.

“They were leaders this year, that’s the way they did it. As for us in the locker room, I think if they can do it, then we can do it too.

“We don’t allow ourselves to be distracted by anything else, they don’t allow themselves to be distracted. We’re all just excited for the game tomorrow night.”

10. Follow the game with TIA

Liverpool vs Real Madrid is live on TNT Sports 1 with kick-off at 8:00 p.m. (GMT).

TIA’s matchday live blog will be available from 7:15 p.m Henry Jackson The job is to keep you entertained and informed.

Come on, you reds!