JAKARTA Liverpool and Real Madrid will repeat last season's Champions League final when they meet again in the last 16 of this season. In the first leg, Wednesday, February 22, early morning WIB, the Reds will host Los Blancos.
The duel of two European giants will take place at Liverpool's headquarters at Anfield Stadium. The hosts will play this match with capital only being eliminated once in that round in the last five years.
However, the defeat to Real Madrid in last season's final extended Liverpool's winning streak against the champion to six. It was the longest winless record against a team in the European Champions League.
Jurgen Klopp's team escaped the preliminary phase as runners up in Group A, trailing Napoli at the top. Meanwhile, the defending champions beat Celtic, Shakhtar Donetsk, and RB Leipzig to occupy first place in Group F.
The Reds collected 15 points in the group stage and only lost on goal difference to the Partenopei. Madrid have 13 points from six games to beat Red Bull Leipzig one point who qualified as group runners up.
Liverpool play the match in the early hours of the morning after a consecutive Premier League win over Everton and Newcastle United. Two results that make them hope to finish in the last four of the season are starting to open.
Selain modal dua kemenangan di laga terbaru dan hanya satu kali tersingkir di babak 16 dalam lima tahun terakhir itu, pasukan Klopp juga punya catatan yang baik saat bermain di Anfield. rekor tidak terkenjangan mereka di kandang sejauh ini telah mencapai tujuh pertandingan.
However, Los Blancos, who are the collector of the most titles in the competition, cannot be underestimated. Last season those who did not excel could actually repatriate Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea, and Manchester City, on their way to the 14th title.
The journey of the Spanish capital team in the group phase this season is far from perfect. The draw with Shakhtar Donetsk and the defeat to RB Leipzig had reduced Los Blancos' chance to qualify for the knockout stages as group winners.
However, the 5-1 win over Celtic in the last match managed to bring the reigning champions to finish the top in the group stage. In addition, they also just added one collection of titles, namely the Club Inter World Cup in the middle of this month after beating Al Hilal in the final.
Carlo Ancelotti's side secured a fourth straight win in all tournaments at the weekend after beating Osasuna 2-0 in La Liga. However, their hopes of winning the La Liga title and the Champions League in a row are on the brink.
For now, Madrid are still in second place in the La Liga standings with a collection of 51 points from 22 matches. They are eight points adrift of Barcelona who are in the top position.
In addition, recently Real has not been very consistent every time they play away matches in Europe. In the last six away games in this competition, they have only won two of them.
Estimated Lineup
Liverpool (4-3-3): Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson; Bajcetic, Fabinho, Henderson; Salah, Gakpo, Jota
Real Madrid (4-3-3): Courtois; Carvajal, Militao, Rudiger, Alaba; Ceballos, Camavinga, Modric; Valverde, Benzema, Vinicius Jr
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