This isn’t tonight’s gameNaturally. Join John Brewin for the tantalizing clash between Villa and Juventus.

Gareth Bale is an expert on TNT tonight. Presenter Laura Woods points out that the Welshman’s record at Anfield is not the best:

“I won when it mattered,” Bale replies.

Two changes for Slot since Liverpool’s victory over Southampton. Diaz replaces Gakpo and Mac Allister replaces Szoboszlai. Trent Alexander-Arnold is back on the bench after recovering from his injury problems. Conor Bradley is in charge of marking Kylian Mbappé.

What a great match for Raúl Asencio as a central defender at Real Madrid. The 21-year-old is making only his third senior appearance and his first Champions League appearance. There are two changes from the side that beat Leganés: Diaz comes in for the injured Vini Jr, and the evergreen Modric replaces Ceballos.

The teams!

Liverpool were investigating the signing of Jude Bellingham from Borussia Dortmund in 2023, before deciding they couldn’t afford the total package to sign him. Bellingham has spoken this week about that interest and his ultimate decision to join Madrid.

(Signing for Liverpool) was probably not as close as many media said. I spoke to a few clubs when I left Borussia Dortmund and made that decision. They gave me permission to speak to a few clubs. All the clubs I spoke to had a lot of respect for me and my family, something I really respected. But when Real Madrid knocks on the door, the whole house shakes. It’s hard not to accept. It’s not that the other teams weren’t good or bad when I talked to them, it’s just that Real Madrid is on a different level.

Guess who’s back. Back again.

With Vini Jr injured at LeganésMbappé switched to his preferred position on the left and the Frenchman will almost certainly take the same position tonight. Here’s Sid Lowe to explain a bit more.

“If ever a game needed the name Clash of the Titans, this would be it,” email krishnamoorthy. “Real haven’t won lately, it’s even hard to type this statement, which is absurd. The losing streak had to end and what better platform to perform than in the tournament they own. But then we thought the same thing about City last night. Real is not City and Liverpool is certainly not Feynoord. I expect a 2-2 draw.”

I also think a draw is a fair cry, although Madrid’s form and absences mean Liverpool are favorites tonight.

It is also worth noting that, after heavy back-to-back defeats to Barcelona and Milan, Madrid have improved significantly in recent times after Carlo Ancelotti made some changes. After the 3-1 home defeat to Milan, the Italian announced: “We have evaluated the situation with the players. We think we have found the solution. But we have to put that into practice. That’s what we hope to do, to play differently.”

Since then, Madrid have won 4-0 and 3-0 in La Liga, against Osasuna and Leganés. Liverpool are not, but the results are certainly encouraging.

Herefrom the archives just before the 2022 Champions League final (won 1-0 by Madrid), is a more detailed history of the meeting between these two teams.

The last time Madrid traveled to Anfield was in February last year, when Madrid defeated Liverpool 5-2 in the round of 16 despite trailing 2-0. The injured Vini Jr and Karim Benzema, who have of course now left for Al-Ittihad in Saudi Arabia, were in charge that evening.

Preamble