Road to Madrid, Pt. 1
A place in the coveted Champions League final is up for grabs and what a fixture it is. Both teams are top 5 in overall goals scored this season and few could have hoped for a more enticing matchup but will Barcelona utilise their home advantage or will Liverpool fly home with an important away goal or two?
Barcelona
Messi and co. secured their 4th La Liga title in 5 seasons after another extraordinary campaign and have so far only lost 4 (2 in the Copa Del Rey) games across all competitions. Main man Lionel has to date scored a staggering 34 goals and his biting partner in crime, Luis, has managed a very respectful 21 meaning that newly crowned PFL player of the year Virgil Van Dijk will have lots do to.
The Blaugrana lost to Betis in a strange game back in November but that is their only blemish at home and after repeatedly witnessing their dominance this season I have a hard time seeing the tally of 1 loss turn to 2, even against a very strong Liverpool side. Stats definitely matter and are a great indication of how a team is doing or how a game could go but in a competition like the Champions League, not to mention the business end of it, what a team has done beforehand stats-wise pales a little.
With basically a fully fit squad and being buoyed by already having won their domestic league Barca are more than ready, a lot of their players are in form and judging by different reports there really is absolutely nothing awry at all. In all honesty, the winner of this years Champions League is probably one of the two in this fixture and they know it, expect Barca to come out ROARING.
Notable absentees
Rafinha
Liverpool
Klopp's men are yet again having an amazing season and have only lost 2 games all season, one of which was away to City (forgivable) and the other at home to Chelsea in the League cup (does anyone care about that one?).
Main men Salah and Mane have scored 21 and 20 goals respectively and are in great form coming into this game which is huge for the men in red, however, Firminho is doubtful after a minor groin injury and that could honestly be the deciding factor going into this first leg. The Brazilian might not score the most goals or provide the most assists but his selflessness, unrelenting work ethic and link-up play is overly important for Jurgen and his tactics so the minor meltdown some Liverpool fans experienced when seeing him missing against Huddersfield last Friday is understandable.
The Reds have scored 5th most goals in Europe this season and are absolutely lethal going forward. They come into this game in phenomenal form which is why i definitely think they will be able to nick a goal, maybe even two.
Notable absentees
Fabinho, Lallana and Firminho (maybe).
Barcelona - Liverpool Betting tip
I think home advantage will be deciding which is why i will be backing a Barcelona win at 19/20 with Bethard.
Another bet that looks very enticing is Over 2.5 goals at 33/50.
