Liverpool and Real Madrid Meet Again in the Champions League

Real Madrid's Uruguayan Fede Valverde celebrates after scoring the 0-1 during the Spanish La Liga match between CA Osasuna and Real Madrid at El Sadar stadium in Navarra, Pamplona, northern Spain, 18 February 2023. (EPA)
Real Madrid's Uruguayan Fede Valverde celebrates after scoring the 0-1 during the Spanish La Liga match between CA Osasuna and Real Madrid at El Sadar stadium in Navarra, Pamplona, northern Spain, 18 February 2023. (EPA)
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Liverpool and Real Madrid Meet Again in the Champions League

Real Madrid's Uruguayan Fede Valverde celebrates after scoring the 0-1 during the Spanish La Liga match between CA Osasuna and Real Madrid at El Sadar stadium in Navarra, Pamplona, northern Spain, 18 February 2023. (EPA)
Real Madrid's Uruguayan Fede Valverde celebrates after scoring the 0-1 during the Spanish La Liga match between CA Osasuna and Real Madrid at El Sadar stadium in Navarra, Pamplona, northern Spain, 18 February 2023. (EPA)

Champions League royalty go head-to-head on Tuesday when Liverpool hosts holder Real Madrid at Anfield.

The two giants of European football meet in a repeat of last year's final and the standout match of the round of 16.

While Liverpool and Real Madrid share 20 Champions League titles between them, Manchester City continues its quest to win the trophy for the first time and Napoli has emerged as a surprise contender after an outstanding start to the season.

Liverpool’s revenge mission

Liverpool has the chance to avenge the 1-0 loss to Real in the final in Paris last May and goes into the first leg in much-improved form after back-to-back wins against Everton and Newcastle in the Premier League.

It has been a season of struggle for a team that was competing for an unprecedented quadruple of trophies last year. So much so that, up until the past week, winning the Champions League looked like its best chance of qualifying for next season's competition.

But there have been encouraging signs in those morale-boosting wins that leave Jurgen Klopp's team just six points off the top four and a Champions League-qualifying spot.

Real is aiming to be crowned champion of Europe for a record extending 15th time and is fresh from winning the Club World Cup earlier this month.

But it faces a fight to hold onto its Spanish league title, with Barcelona leading the way at the top of the standings.

Man City’s year?

The Champions League is the one major trophy City has failed to win since being taken over by Abu Dhabi's ruling family in 2008.

While the arrival of Erling Haaland last summer looked like a potential game-changer in Europe, question marks hang over Pep Guardiola's team in the Premier League.

A 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest on Saturday saw Arsenal overtake City at the top of the table and highlighted vulnerabilities that have been evident for much of the season.

But City has looked strong in the Champions League, cruising through the group stages and is the overwhelming favorite to win when it travels to RB Leipzig on Wednesday.

But Guardiola's time in charge at City has been punctuated by surprise exits in Europe, so the potential for an upset is real.

The City manager is still waiting to win his first Champions League title with a team other than Barcelona featuring Lionel Messi, having lifted it twice with the Catalan club in 2009 and 2011.

The surprise package

Napoli was the most impressive team of the group stages and is racing away at the top of the Italian league, leading by 15 points. It faces Eintracht Frankfurt away on Tuesday on the back of a five-game winning run.

Striker Victor Osimhen looks unstoppable in front of goal, with 19 this season and nine in his last nine games.

His performances have seen him linked with a summer move to Manchester United and he can further enhance his reputation as the Champions League returns.

Based on form, Napoli looks like one of the leading contenders to win the trophy and will take some stopping if it can maintain it.

Lukaku’s back

Inter Milan, which is the closest challenger to Napoli in Italy, is also in action in the Champions League this week when it hosts Porto on Wednesday.

If it is to stand a chance of going far in the competition, much could rely on Romelu Lukaku staying fit and getting his goal-scoring form back.

In that sense, it was encouraging to see him score for the first time since October in Inter's 3-1 win against Udinese on Saturday - even if it did come from the penalty spot.

World Cup winner Lautaro Martinez has been lethal in front of goal since returning from Argentina's success in Qatar, scoring eight in his last 10 games.



Liverpool Expects Attendance Record for Merseyside Derby at Anfield

Liverpool supporters wait for the start of the Champions League round of 16 second leg soccer match between Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain at Anfield in Liverpool, England, Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)
Liverpool supporters wait for the start of the Champions League round of 16 second leg soccer match between Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain at Anfield in Liverpool, England, Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)
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Liverpool Expects Attendance Record for Merseyside Derby at Anfield

Liverpool supporters wait for the start of the Champions League round of 16 second leg soccer match between Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain at Anfield in Liverpool, England, Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)
Liverpool supporters wait for the start of the Champions League round of 16 second leg soccer match between Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain at Anfield in Liverpool, England, Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)

Liverpool expects to set an attendance record for a Merseyside derby at Anfield for Wednesday's Premier League match against Everton.

The record crowd for a match between the rivals at the famous stadium was 56,060 for a 0-0 draw in 1963.

Wednesday will be the first time the teams have faced each other at Anfield since expansion work was completed at the stadium last year, with attendances now rising above 60,000. The renovated stadium's official capacity is 61,276, which is below its all-time record attendance of 61,905 set in 1952 for an FA Cup match against Wolverhampton Wanderers, The AP news reported.

Liverpool manager Arne Slot predicts the home crowd will be an advantage to his players after February's 2-2 draw with Everton in a bad tempered match when Slot was one of four people sent off.

Slot said Tuesday he expected another difficult game.

“I expect the same,” he said. “But with one difference: that every time the Everton players do something well, they don’t get the cheers and the reactions from 50,000 people. ... Our players will get that reaction after every tackle they make, after every pass they do and that is a different emotion.”

Liverpool is on course to win a record-equaling 20th English league title this season. It leads the standings by 12 points over second-placed Arsenal.

If it lifts the title, it would equal with Manchester United's record.