Liverpool have a towering task ahead of them if they are to qualify for the Champions League quarter-finals as they head to Spain on Wednesday needing to overturn a 5-2 first-leg deficit in their Champions League last 16 tie with defending champions Real Madrid.
The Reds have been inconsistent all season. After enjoying a bit of a league renaissance in recent weeks that saw them pound seven without a reply past an in-form Erik ten Hag's Man Utd, Jurgen Klopp's Reds slumped to a tame loss away to bottom-placed Bournemouth on Saturday, leaving them six points behind the Premier League's top four.
That was the most depressing dress rehearsal conceivable as they prepare to face the defending champions on their home soil with a three-goal lead.
Of course, Liverpool are no strangers to European comebacks. They have a history to overturning a three-goal deficit against a Spanish side in the Champions League, but that was at Anfield in full pomp, against a hapless Barcelona side that capitulated to Roma in similar fashion a year before.
On the other hand, Los Blancos have forgotten when they last lost a European knockout tie thanks to their dominance and never-say-die attitude in recent times. They won the competition without ever truly putting their foot down, and will enter the match full of confidence.
While Carlo Ancelotti's men are not in a superb form either, boasting a win, a draw, and a defeat in their last three domestic games, with Barcelona favourites for La Liga, they are an altogether a different beast in Europe, and will once again look at the Champions League as their holy grail this season.
With Real looking to get the job done and earn simple progression and Liverpool in need of a miracle to get over the line, Santiago Bernabeu is all geared up for a high-voltage Champions League night, filled with end-to-end epic drama, and an encounter that will be no less fascinating and exhilarating than the first leg.
Real Madrid vs Liverpool confirmed line-ups
Real Madrid XI (4-3-3): Courtois; Carvajal, Militao, Rudiger, Nacho; Modric, Camavinga, Kroos; Valverde, Benzema, Vinicius Jr
Liverpool XI (4-2-3-1): Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Fabinho, Milner; Salah, Jota, Nunez; Gakpo
Real Madrid vs Liverpool LIVE updates
Real Madrid and Liverpool's upcoming fixtures
The Reds travel to Spain to accomplish an impossible task, but progression here despite the tough circumstances could be just the momentum boost Liverpool need for the remainder of their campaign.
Jurgen Klopp's side will not return to Premier League action until after the international break, when they travel to the Etihad Stadium for a blockbuster encounter against rampant Manchester City on 1st April.
As for Real Madrid, the reigning Spanish champions will make the trip to Spotify Camp Nou to take on La Liga leaders Barça in La Liga on Sunday, in what would be the second of three Clásicos in over a month, with the Catalans holding a nine-point advantage over Carlo Ancelotti's second-placed side.
