This Tuesday, Liverpool face Champions League holders Real Madrid at the Bernabeu. Since their 3-0 battering in the reverse fixture, the reds have drawn 0-0 with Hull, edged past Swansea in the League Cup and lost 1-0 to a depressingly average Newcastle side. Even if we were in our scintillating form of last season it would be tough to get any sort of result away to the Spanish giants – in this sort of form, it is extremely hard to see anything other than a thrashing.
As if things weren’t hard enough for us already when Real came to Anfield, Gareth Bale is expected to return to the side for this game. This means that our defence – currently one of the worst in the league – will be up against a front three of Ronaldo, Benzema and Bale. On top of this, Real don’t have a clash with Barcelona around the corner this time out; it is Liverpool with the big fixture ahead (against Chelsea). Due to this, they won’t show mercy and ease up like they did last time, meaning that we could be in for a huge score. There is even a worry that irony could deal up a cruel scenario whereby Madrid break our record of the biggest ever Champions League margin of victory. Liverpool will surely be hopeful of stopping ‘Los Blancos’ from scoring more than eight times, but the very fact that it has to be entertained as a possibility shows just how bleak the situation is.
We can’t even rely on the goals of Daniel Sturridge to help us out. He is still sidelined, having been out of action ever since the 3-0 win over Tottenham. It is no coincidence that this game was our last convincing performance; his movement and excellent combination with Raheem Sterling bring a fluidity to our attack that has been severely lacking in recent weeks. It will come down to Mario Balotelli to score in this game, and if the last few games are anything to go by then that seems unlikely. He isn’t playing particularly badly; whilst he’s missed a few chances that he should probably have taken, the main problem is the lack of service he is receiving. Brendan Rodgers is stubbornly continuing to play Balotelli as a lone striker, and as such is failing to get anywhere near the best out of him. If Rodgers refuses to play the diamond when up against Newcastle, it seems unlikely that he’ll be prepared to take the risk away to Real Madrid. If Sterling was played up front with Balotelli, we might be able to score early on, unsettle the hosts and possibly even snatch a point from the match. As it is we’ll probably attempt to apply some early pressure, make a couple of half-chances but fail to take them and then get ripped apart by the sheer quality of Real.
The one thing that works in Liverpool’s favour is that they have absolutely no expectation on them whatsoever. As an ardent LFC fan, I tend to be optimistic going into games. Even I have written us off for this one. This feeling is surely shared by the players from both sides, and it could have an effect. For Liverpool, it will hopefully allow them to play with total freedom; there’s nothing to lose, so they can just go out there and try to emulate the lovely football that they created last season. For Real, it could lead to complacency. Modric has already come out and said that the team were “saving energy” in their last game against the reds. This attitude might lead to mistakes, which if Liverpool manage to capitalise on could lead to a shock result.
I don’t think that we’ll put in a performance as poor as the one against Newcastle. If there is one thing guaranteed to get a team fired up, it’s a game against one of the biggest teams in the world. I am hopeful that Liverpool can make a good account of themselves, and finish the game with their pride intact. However, whilst there is a remote chance that Real will pay the price for underestimating us, I personally can’t see us getting a result. My final score prediction is 5-1 to Real Madrid.
James Martin
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