Barcelona vs Liverpool: TV channel, live stream, squad news & preview

Liverpool can take another step towards a second successive Champions League final on Wednesday when they meet Barcelona at Camp Nou in their semi-final first-leg tie.

Jurgen Klopp’s side are currently embroiled in a battle for Premier League supremacy with Manchester City , but that has not stopped the Anfield outfit from charging into the final four of the European Cup, dispatching Bayern Munich and Porto in the knockout stages.

Barca, meanwhile, secured the Spanish crown at the weekend and approach this match off the back of four successive wins in all competitions, including a thumping 3-0 home success over Manchester United that helped them to a 4-0 aggregate success in the previous round.

This has the makings of a classic, but who will come out on top?

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TV Channel, Live Stream & How To Watch

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For UK readers, get your fix on the latest football on TV here! US readers can find out what soccer is on TV here!

In the United States (US), the game can be watched live and on-demand with fuboTV (7-day free trial ) .

New users can sign up for a free seven-day trial of the live sports streaming service, which can be accessed via iOS, Android, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, Roku and Apple TV, as well as on a web browser.

In the United Kingdom (UK), the game will be broadcast on BT Sport 2 and BT Sport 4K UHD and can be streamed via BT Sport Live.

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Squads & Team News

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Barcelona are without only long-term absentee Rafinha for this encounter.

Naturally, they will deploy a full-strength side, meaning that Lionel Messi and Sergio Busquets will be recalled after being benched at the weekend.

Barcelona starting XI: Ter Stegen, Roberto, Pique, Lenglet, Alba, Rakitic, Busquets, Vidal, Messi, Suarez, Coutinho

Liverpool are without Adam Lallana but otherwise have everyone else available to travel.

There have been doubts over Roberto Firmino, and the forward does not start on Wednesday

 Liverpool starting XI: Alisson, Gomez, Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson, Milner, Fabinho, Wijnaldum, Keita, Salah, Mane

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Betting & Match Odds

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Barcelona are 9/10 favourites with bet365  to take an advantage into the second leg. A draw is priced at 11/4, while Liverpool are 10/3 outsiders.

Click here to see more offers for the game, including goalscoring markets, correct score predictions and more .

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Match Preview

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Getty

Barcelona’s meeting with Liverpool at Camp Nou on Wednesday in the Champions League semi-final first leg promises to be a memorable affair.

While ever respectful of their opponents, with Ajax and Tottenham playing the other semi-final, both clubs will feel they have a strong chance of winning the competition.

Certainly, these are the two teams of the remaining four with the richest recent history in the European Cup, with the Catalans having won three of the last 10 editions and Liverpool finalists last year, when they lost 3-1 to Real Madrid.

Barcelona, however, have the advantage of having already secured their domestic league title, having done so thanks to a 1-0 win over Levante on Saturday, the unsuppressible Lionel Messi getting the only goal.

By contrast, Liverpool are involved in a thrilling shootout with Manchester City for honours in England, with their latest outing a 5-0 win over Huddersfield Town on Friday .

Despite the Reds fighting on two fronts, Barca boss Ernesto Valverde has predicted a tough match.

“Liverpool are a team with lots of good forwards. They have only lost one game [in the Premier League] this season against City, that shows how good they are,” he said.

“The idea is to win and to stop them from scoring an away goal. Liverpool are a team who latch on to mistakes, so it is important to stop those.

“It's very psychological the way they play. We saw that against Chelsea the other week [a 2-0 Premier League win at Anfield].  

“In the first 15 minutes of each half they try to smother you, push you and throw everything they can at you.”

Klopp, meanwhile, has made it his mission to stop Messi from claiming a fifth Champions League title .

“Messi said before the start of the season that they wanted to bring back this cup – that sounded already like a threat to me!” he said on Tuesday. “Now we are here, we want to go to the final as well.”

With 46 goals this season, the Argentine poses a unique problem to the English side, as their German boss admitted.

“It is not only about Messi, but it is about Messi of course,” he said. “Can we concentrate on Messi? We should, in certain moments.

“But then they have 10 world-class players around who can decide the game. They have the highest quality team, they are already Spanish champions.”

And the former Dortmund boss appreciates the South American so much that he openly backed him as the world’s standout player at present, surpassing even Cristiano Ronaldo.

“For me, from the players I've seen, Messi would be the number one, 100 per cent,” he said.

His task now, then, is to find a way not only of stopping the brilliant Argentine, but his 10 team-mates, too.