Champions League: Real Madrid expected to beat Liverpool

• Real Madrid hosts Liverpool in the second leg.
• After their 5-2 victory in Liverpool three weeks ago.
• Jurgen Klopp’s team was pulled back down to earth.

On Wednesday, Real Madrid hosts Liverpool in the second leg of their Champions League round of 16 matchup at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.

With their 5-2 victory in Liverpool three weeks ago, in which they exploited weaknesses in a flimsy Liverpool midfield and defence, the defending champions are unquestionably favourites to advance against the team they defeated in the final of last season.

Since then, Liverpool has beaten an in-form Manchester United 7-0, but Jurgen Klopp’s team was pulled back down to earth this past weekend when they fell 1-0 to Bournemouth, who came into the match ranked last in the Premier League.

Real Madrid concluded a mediocre run of play on Saturday with a convincing 3-1 victory against Espanyol, which included losses to Barcelona in the Cup del Rey and draws with Atletico Madrid and Betis.

David Alaba, Karim Benzema, and Ferland Mendy were all sidelined by injuries on Saturday, but it appears that Mendy and Benzema will be ready to play on Wednesday night.

Coach Carlo Ancelotti of Real Madrid will want Benzema to play, but with El Clasico away to FC Barcelona on Sunday, he won’t take many chances before a game that Real Madrid needs to win to have any chance of maintaining their La Liga title.

Liverpool’s final match before the break comes on Wednesday at the Bernabeu.

Even if Thiago Alcantara, Joe Gomez, Naby Keita, and Luis Diaz continue to be injured, Klopp remarked after the first leg that it would be nearly impossible for his team to get back into the match. Yet, he will still be on the lookout for a response.

Cody Gakpo, Darwin Nunez, and Mohamed Salah were displaying signs that they were beginning to function as an attacking unit before last weekend’s defeat, and Virgil van Dijk is now fully match-ready. But, they all lost.

It would take a miracle for Liverpool to come back from a three-goal hole, but if Madrid is focused on the upcoming weekend, Liverpool might make them nervous.

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