The lineups of Real Madrid and Liverpool are known for the return in the round of 16 of the Champions League. The Royal, who will play for the 300th time in the Champions League on Wednesday evening, defends a comfortable 5-2 lead in its own Estadio Santiago Bernabéu. Virgil van Dijk and Cody Gakpo are in the base at Liverpool. There are also base places for James Milner and Diogo Jota. The match starts at 9 p.m. and can be viewed on RTL 7 and Ziggo Sport.
Real Madrid is very close to reaching the quarter-finals after the 2-5 win at Anfield. Carlo Ancelotti’s team fell behind 2-0, but recovered nicely. Liverpool is an opponent that suits Real anyway. The Spaniards have won five of the last six mutual meetings, including two finals. Ancelotti has to do without David Alaba and Ferland Mendy, while Karim Benzema is not armpit fresh either. The Frenchman had to miss the duel with Espanyol (3-1 win) on Saturday due to ankle complaints, but can start.
Yossi Benayoun’s late header secured a memorable win at the Bernabéu in 2009 ????#RMALIV pic.twitter.com/NHpTrtgEEI
—Liverpool FC (@LFC) March 13, 2023
Joe Gomez, Thiago Alcântara and Luis Díaz are absent from Liverpool, which need a small miracle to qualify. However, if there’s one club that can turn things around, it’s Liverpool. The Reds recently lashed out against Manchester United (7-0) and they have also shown that they can achieve a great result in Europe. Liverpool need at least three goals. The last time that worked was on December 26 last year. Then Aston Villa was put aside 1-3.
Unlike last weekend’s game against Bournemouth, Jürgen Klopp opts for two new names to kick off. Harvey Elliott and Stefan Bajcetic have been driven to the reserve bench. Milner and Jota play for them. The latter will have to take care of the danger in the front together with Mohamed Salah, Gakpo and Darwin Núñez. Milner and Fabinho are the midfield controllers. Van Dijk, who made a bad turn against Bournemouth, forms the heart of the defense with Ibrahima Konaté.
Real Madrid lineup: Courtois; Carvajal, Militao, Rudiger, Nacho; Kroos, Camavinga; Valverde, Modric, Vinicius; Benzema.
Liverpool line-up: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Fabinho, Milner; Gakpo, Salah, Jota; Núnez.