Liverpool will need to produce another Champions League comeback if they are to avoid bowing out of this season’s competition at the hands of old rivals Real Madrid.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side head into the Round of 16 second leg with a 5-2 aggregate lead after powering past Liverpool at Anfield last month in a real show of strength from the defending champions.
Ancelotti will be aiming to ease his side over the line in this tie as they continue to battle with Barcelona in the La Liga title race, with the veteran Italian under pressure not to end the season without a trophy.
Klopp’s chances of silverware in 2023 will be decided by this result, with the Reds out of the Premier League title race and facing a scrap to secure a top-four finish in the run-in.
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Real Madrid vs Liverpool live stream, TV channel
Klopp’s record as Liverpool boss against Real Madrid reads as five matches and no wins for the German coach after losing out to Los Blancos in the 2018 and 2022 Champions League finals.
Victory in Madrid would be a boost for Liverpool’s inconsistent campaign, but due to the three-goal lead, the Reds’ task looks to be extremely difficult.
| TV channel | Streaming | |
|---|---|---|
| USA | Univision, TUDN | fuboTV, Paramount+, ViX+, TUDN app, Univision Now |
| Canada | — | DAZN |
| UK | BT Sport 1 | BT Sport app/site |
| Australia | — | Stan Sport |
| New Zealand | — | Spark Sport |
| India | Sony TEN 2,3,4 | Sony LIV, Jio TV |
| Hong Kong | beIN Sports 3 | beIN Sports Connect |
| Malaysia | beIN Sports 3 |
beIN Sports Connect, sooka |
| Singapore | beIN Sports 3 | beIN Sports Connect, StarHub TV+ |
Real Madrid vs Liverpool lineups
Ancelotti has looked to manage the game time of his experienced stars this season with the home side confident of bringing French duo Karim Benzema and Ferland Mendy back into the fold against Liverpool.
Liverpool’s injury picture worsened this week as it emerged Jordan Henderson and Stefan Bajcetic would be unavailable for the match in Spain.
Naby Keita is potentially fit enough for a place on the bench, but Thiago Alcantara and Luis Diaz will not return until after the international break.
Below are the projected starting lineups for both teams ahead of their Champions League meeting at the Santiago Bernabeu on March 15.
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Real Madrid starting 11
(4-3-3): Courtois (GK) — Carvajal, Militao, Rudiger, Mendy — Camavinga, Tchouameni, Modric — Valverde, Benzema, Vinicius Jr
- Injured: Alaba
- Suspended: None
Benzema scored twice at Anfield, but his ongoing injury issues have forced Ancelotti to rest him in the last two weeks. It is expected the striker will be back for this one, however.
Mendy’s return could see him get the nod over Nacho Fernandez at left-back, with Fede Valverde pushed into attack as Aurelien Tchouameni rotates back into midfield.
Liverpool starting 11
(4-3-3): Alisson (GK) — Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson — Elliot, Fabinho, Milner — Salah, Gakpo, Nunez
- Injured: Diaz, Thiago, Ramsey
- Suspended: None
Despite this clash being a real long shot for Klopp, he will go with his strongest available side, with Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo looking to continue their superb recent form.
Joe Gomez returned to training on Tuesday but is not likely to be rushed back into action. Jordan Henderson and Stefan Bajcetic have been ruled out, leaving Klopp potentially struggling for options in midfield.