Champions League Preview: Liverpool - Real Madrid

Kick-off: Tuesday, 10 March 2009, 20:45 CET – Anfield, Liverpool, England

More Of The Same, Please

Liverpool may have been criticised for their overly conservative approach in the first leg clash at the Santiago Bernabeu but it was a move that paid off handsomely for Rafa Benitez. The strategy to sit back, absorbed the pressure and hit Real Madrid on the counter-attack left their over-eager opponents frustrated and impatient, so much so that a silly, unnecessary foul from Gabriel Heinze and slapdash defending from the ensuing freekick allowed one of the smallest players on the pitch to score with his head.

But make no mistake, the strategy was a big gamble by Benitez as he had to put a lot of faith and trust in his players’ defensive discipline. Los Merengues had recently been on something of a goal spree, where they netted ten goals in their last 135 minutes of football prior to the clash with the Reds, and the Liverpool gaffer must have been troubled by anxiety that his gameplan was either going to work or flop spectacularly.

But work it did and it wasn’t all about lining up ten men in red shirts right in front of the goalmouth. Javier Mascherano led the first line of defence brilliantly in midfield, whilst Jamie Carragher marshalled the backline without a hitch. It was executed so perfectly that Madrid never really had a clear shot at goal and Pepe Reina’s net was never really in danger of being rippled, bar Gonzalo Higuain’s offside goal.

Although Rafa has admitted that his side will not play as defensively at Anfield, with a one goal advantage, it’s hard to find a reason why the Spanish tactician would try to fix something that isn’t broken.

With the Premier League title seemingly edging further and further away from them by the week, the pressure is on the Merseysiders to bring the continental crown back to Anfield to avoid another disappointing campaign.

Only Way Forward Is… Forward

Real Madrid are staring straight at another catastrophic Champions League campaign. A 0-0 first leg scoreline, whilst not perfect, would have been a decent enough a result to take to Anfield for the return clash, as it would have prompted Liverpool to at least come out of their shells and attack in front of their home crowd.

But Benayoun’s late and unexpected goal washed that plan straight down the drain for Los Blancos and they are now faced with a daunting swim upstream just to bring this contest back on level terms.

Unlike their English counterparts, who can be flexible with their strategy, Madrid’s only way out of this predicament is to attack. By hook or by crook, they need to score and they need to keep things tight at the back to avoid leaking in any more goals. The 'Men In White' can hardly take comfort in the fact that the Scousers have conceded just five times in their last 11 home games and they have not been beaten in front of the Kop in almost exactly 13 months.

It would appear that once again, Madrid’s philosophy of having to win every single football match they take part in could cost them dearly, just like it did against Roma last season at this very stage of the tournament.

With their hopes of defending the back-to-back La Liga title not looking any brighter, it seems as though Madrid’s main prospect of silverware this season – to add to their Spanish Supercopa – is the Champions League.

The European crown, which they conquered so dominantly in the competition’s infancy when they famously won it five years in a row, is now starting to turn into a jinx, much like the Copa del Rey. If they fail to get past Liverpool on Tuesday, it would be five years in a row, ironically, where they have stumbled at the very first knockout stage.

FORM GUIDE

Liverpool

Mar 03 Liverpool 2-0 Sunderland Premier League

Feb 28 Middlesbrough 2-0 Liverpool Premier League

Feb 25 Real Madrid 0-1 Liverpool Champions League

Feb 22 Liverpool 1-1 Manchester City Premier League

Feb 07 Portsmouth 2-3 Liverpool Premier League

Real Madrid

Mar 07 Real Madrid 1-1 Atletico Madrid La Liga

Feb 28 Espanyol 0-2 Real Madrid La Liga

Feb 25 Real Madrid 0-1 Liverpool Champions League

Feb 21 Real Madrid 6-1 Real Betis La Liga

Feb 15 Sporting Gijon 0-4 Real Madrid La Liga

TEAM NEWS

Liverpool

First leg hero, Yossi Benayoun is certain to miss the clash after pulling a hamstring during training. Fernando Torres, meanwhile, is still struggling to regain match fitness following an ankle injury but Benitez will monitor his situation closely to ascertain how big a role he will be able to play on Tuesday.

Alvaro Arbeloa is also nursing a hamstring problem while Daniel Agger still has a back problem and both men will join Torres for a late fitness test to determine if they will make the squad.

Albert Riera is a definite absentee as he is suspended for card accumulation. Mascherano and Arbeloa will banned for the next game if they pick up another booking in this clash.

Probable Starting XI (4-2-3-1): Reina – Arbeloa, Skrtel, Carragher, Fabio Aurelio –Mascherano, Xabi Alonso – Gerrard (c), Kuyt, Babel – N’Gog

Real Madrid

Juande Ramos has no fresh injury concerns or suspension worries. In addition, he will welcome Pepe and Wesley Sneijder back to the squad following their weekend suspensions on the domestic front. The Dutchman, however, will most likely start on the bench alongside Guti after the coach hinted in his training sessions that he will retain Marcelo as the left winger with Lassana Diarra and Fernando Gago forming the double pivot.

Javier Saviola and Miguel Torres have been included in the convoy but Michel Salgado, Royston Drenthe, Javi Garcia and Dani Parejo have all been omitted. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar is ineligible.

Probable Starting XI (4-4-2): Casillas – Sergio Ramos, Pepe, Cannavaro, Heinze – Robben, Lass, Gago, Marcelo – Raul (c), Higuain

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Liverpool

Steven Gerrard only made a wind-down-the-clock substitute appearance in the first leg but now that he is back to full fitness, his contributions, leadership and influence on the pitch will be extremely critical if Liverpool are to safely cross the line.

Jamie Carragher will once again be responsible for closing the door shut on any Madrid advances. He did a phenomenal job shackling Raul in the first leg and the Reds vice-captain will have to remain on top of his game in the off-chance Benitez does employ a slightly more attacking-minded approach.

Real Madrid

If there’s one game this season where Madrid really need their captain, Raul to shine and deliver, it would be this one game. Who better to count on when you need to score goals than the Champions League’s all-time leading marksman.

Arjen Robben didn’t quite get his revenge a fortnight ago, but he will have another chance to make matters right. Often Madrid’s prime creative spark, a lot will depend on him to breach the Reds defence. But he must also learn to be less selfish when he gets the ball into a decent scoring position.

PREDICTION

Liverpool are the draw experts when it comes to the knockout rounds of the Champions League and more often than not, they know how to grind out just a sufficient enough a result to get by. This will very likely be another one of those outcomes and eventhough Madrid are anticipating their hosts to be a little more open in this game, it’s hard to see them break down Rafa’s men at Anfield after labouring so tirelessly without any rewards at the Bernabeu.

Liverpool 0-0 Real Madrid

KS Leong, Goal.com

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