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REAL MADRID V LIVERPOOL
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Liverpool have endured a torrid season, but they’ll enter this game in high spirits as the gap to the top four domestically has closed a little with Chelsea dropping points hosting West Brom.
Moreover, the Reds have now strung three consecutive victories together in all competitions for the first time since early November, with the commanding performance in the 3-0 win away at Arsenal last time out no doubt boosting their confidence.
Questions were asked of Zinedine Zidane earlier in the season, but his side are very much in the title hunt domestically with Atletico Madrid just three points ahead now, as Barcelona are also in the mix.
Still, this team doesn’t have the same potency as they did a few years ago with Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale departing, while many other stars from their hugely successful spell in Europe are now getting old. This is actually their first quarter-final since Ronaldo departed, and they only just squeezed through the group stages this term on the final day.
First Half Draw
Real Madrid may have won nine of 11 unbeaten matches since the start of February, but it’s worth noting that aside from wins over Atalanta in the previous round of this competition, they’ve faced a kind fixture list domestically as the best sides they encountered (seventh-placed Real Sociedad and league leaders Atletico Madrid) both held them to 1-1 draws.
In addition, Los Blancos have something of a crisis at centre-back. They lost key veteran Sergio Ramos to injury during the international break and he’s set to miss both legs of this tie, while in addition, partner Raphael Varane has now been ruled out following a positive coronavirus test.
Going back to the start of 2018, Real have lost eight of 11 Champions league matches in Ramos’ absence, conceding at least three times in five of these games. Further, the defence has another absentee in the shape of right-back Dani Carvajal, while Federico Valverde is a major doubt and Eden Hazard has been omitted from the squad for this game.
Jurgen Klopp isn’t without any problems of his own as captain Jordan Henderson remains sidelined, while of course centre-back trio Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip and Joe Gomez are out. However, his team have certainly looked better since Fabinho was pushed back into midfield, and the return of Diogo Jota has given them more at the sharp end.
Zidane is likely to be quite conservative in his team sheet at the start of a crucial week, as the two legs of this tie sandwich el Classico, and he’s turned to a back three in recent weeks. In what could therefore be quite a cagey affair, the half-time stalemate holds some appeal.
Five of Liverpool’s last six on their travels have been goalless at half-time, as the exception saw them take a lead on the stroke of the half-time whistle at Wolves, while Real have been level at the break in four of their last seven on home turf.
REAL MADRID V LIVERPOOL ODDS AVAILABLE HERE
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ODDS ARE CORRECT AS OF 06/04/2020 HOWEVER ARE SUBJECT TO FLUCTUATIONS
