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2022/23 UEFA Champions League
Round of 16
First leg
Liverpool v Real Madrid
Anfield
Liverpool, England
Tuesday, 21 February 2023
Kick-off is at 22h00
Liverpool will be looking to halt a six-match winless run against Real Madrid when they clash in the
UEFA Champions League round of 16 at Anfield on Tuesday, February 21.
The Reds were beaten 1-0 by Los Blancos in last season's final and last came out on top against the Spanish giants in 2009 with victory in both legs of their last-16 tie.
Jurgen Klopp's side have been in rotten form this season, winning just four of their last 10 games across all competitions.
A 1-0 win over neighbours Everton on February 13 arrested a four-match winless streak in the Premier League and lifted them up to ninth in the standings, although they remain a staggering 19 points adrift of the summit.
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Real are the closest challengers to Barcelona in La Liga this term, trailing their arch-rivals by eight points after 21 games.
Carlo Ancelotti's team recently won a record fifth Club World Cup title as they defeated Al Hilal 5-3 in the final, having seen off Al Ahly 4-1 in the semi-finals.
The Madrid outfit beat Elche 4-0 on February 15 to bounce back from their third league loss of the campaign against Real Mallorca.
Mohamed Salah has struggled for goals domestically in 2022-23 but is the joint-top scorer in the UEFA Champions League alongside PSG forward Kylian Mbappe with seven goals. The Egyptian star likely holds the key to Liverpool's chances of beating Los Blancos for the first time in 14 years.
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Karim Benzema has continued where he left off last term, bagging 11 goals in just 13 league appearances, although he's yet to get off the mark in Europe and missed the last two matches in the group stages as well as the 2022 World Cup with a thigh injury.
In team news, the hosts must do without Thiago Alcantara (groin), Luis Diaz (knee), Ibrahima Konate and Arthur Melo (both thigh), while Ferland Mendy (hamstring) is ruled out for the visitors.
Thibaut Courtois (thigh), Toni Kroos (flu) and Eden Hazard are all rated doubtful for the trip to England.
Cody Gakpo finally broke his Reds duck with their second goal in the Merseyside derby and Klopp admitted the Netherlands international would have breathed a sigh of relief after failing to score in his first three top-flight appearances.
"He did extremely well under massive pressure in the centre. In the end, it was not the most difficult goal he ever scored, but it is exactly the goal each striker is dreaming of when it didn't happen for a while, probably," the German said.
Ancelotti refused to give anything away for the encounter with the Merseysiders, insisting he was focused on Saturday's journey to Osasuna as Real look to close the gap to Barca in the league.
"We haven't thought about Tuesday's match. We know Liverpool well. For now, we're focused on tomorrow's match because it's really important we cut the gap at the top. I'm thinking about who I'm going to play tomorrow, not on Tuesday," the Italian said.
Head-to-Head (Last Five Champions League Meetings)
Matches - 5
Liverpool - 0
Real Madrid - 4
Draws - 1
UEFA Champions League fixtures:
Tuesday, February 21
22h00: Liverpool v Real Madrid
22h00: Eintracht Frankfurt v Napoli
Wednesday, February 22
22h00: RB Leipzig v Manchester City
22h00: Inter Milan v Porto
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