Preview: Liverpool seeking footballing miracle as Real Madrid prepare to complete task at home

Real Madrid pulled off a sensational 5-2 victory in the first leg at Anfield three weeks ago. Liverpool were completely played off the park in a stunning second-half display that left Jurgen Klopp scratching his head.

Liverpool need to produce the most unlikely of comebacks to secure passage into the next round and after their listless display in a 1-0 reverse to Bournemouth at the weekend, it is hard to be optimistic on their behalf. 

The task is simple for Carlo Ancelotti’s men. Keep it simple, stick to the task. With a 3 goal advantage and a raucous home crowd behind them, this should surely be a task they can see out to the end. 

While Los Blancos have not been a free scoring machine in LaLiga, they have found the net regularly in the Champions League and it is very unlikely that they fail to register in this game. 

The last 27 times Real have won the first leg of a Champions League tie away from home, they have progressed from 26 of them. The only exception being an exit to Erik ten Hag's 2018-19 young and illustrious Ajax team. 

Real Madrid: Possible XI 

Courtois, Carvajal, Militao, Rudiger, Nacho, Modric, Tchouameni, Kroos, Valverde, Benzema, Vinicius Jr.

Liverpool are having a strange season by all accounts. All but out of the running for every possible silverware, Klopp’s men produced an emphatic 7-0 victory over fierce rivals Manchester United 10 days ago. 

They followed it up with a terrible performance in a 1-0 defeat to Bournemouth to underline their inconsistent season. 

After losing 5-2 at home in the first leg, the mood around Anfield was completely crushed. The victory over United brought back optimism but it is hard to tell what the feeling is at this point. 

They need to acore three goals to give themselves any chance whatsoever and while they have shown they can score, their defending has left a lot to be desired. 

Liverpool are no strangers when it comes remarkable European comebacks. The Reds notably came from 3-0 down to defeat Barcelona 4-3 on aggregate in 2018-19  but the absence of the Anfield crowd makes this all the more difficult. 

Liverpool: Possible XI 

Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson, Fabinho, Henderson, Salah, Jota, Nunez, Gakpo.

While a spectacular Liverpool comeback would be fun on paper, there is just no way Real are blowing their advantage at the Bernabeu. Real Madrid to progress.