In the aftermath of the rough heavy downfall on last Wednesday night, Liverpool has a long way to go in their second-leg meeting with Barcelona this week. The Reds probably need to implement its previous incredible strategy from the 2005 finals when they literally came back to the living from a 3-0 down at halftime at Milan to the great pleasure of football fanatics around the globe more than 14 years ago.
Steven Gerrard brought the inspiring hope for Liverpool which resulted in an amazing turnaround, with Liverpool coming back in full glow after being outclassed in the first-half.
Can the guys repeat that run on Anfield, or are we going to witness another Spanish winner in the Champions League? Mr Green Sports has a Liverpool home win at 2.45, but what are the odds of actually making the final?
What to expect?
A place in the Champions League final will be at stake when these both giants face each other at Anfield on Tuesday evening. The Catalan team lead by Leo Messi did an incredible job in crushing the Reds at Barcelona’s Camp Nou in the first leg and they are only one step away from the final.
Barcelona have not lost on its road this term in the competition, but there have been couple of unsatisfactory results with Inter and Lyon. The last game they lost was the clash with Roma last year, and in meantime they claimed victory on two away Champions League matches in England this season. Intriguingly enough, no team has ever managed to land wins in three away games in England in a major European competition in one season.
On the other end of the line, while Liverpool has a big margin to overcome, their play in the first leg was far better than the end result itself. They will approach the revanche tomorrow unbeaten in 19 home matches in all competitions and they’ve won 16 of their 18 league games at Anfield, while they have claimed victory in six of their last seven at home in the Champions League. The Englishmen have no other way but to go all guns blazing at Catalan troops and since Mo Salah and Co. did not succeed in turning their dominance into goals in the first leg, there is a big value in betting on the home side.
Scoring a goal will be Barcelona’s key focus on Tuesday evening. Just one successful strike will not only demoralize the Reds and will annul the prospect of extra-time but will force Liverpool to do whatever they can to score five times in 90 minutes, thus leaving the odds on a clean sheet win for Barcelona at Anfield on 4/1.
Liverpool, on the other hand, will need to press forward and do it smart, especially if Ernesto Valverde’s tactics do not materialize in an early score for Barcelona. The Reds are a real force capable of doing wonders at home but overwhelming such a big deficit is not something that would come as a walk in the park especially if we take into consideration the odds of 11/1 that the Reds can qualify in the finals.
