Liverpool hit the post three times against Manchester United and lost 2-1. Aston Villa struck the woodwork twice at Anfield and Liverpool won 2-0.
Fine margins are very much at play in the Premier League and the Reds had them in their favour on Saturday night as some normality was resumed after an astonishing run of six defeats in seven matches which included four straight losses in the top flight.
But that didn’t tell the whole story against Villa as plenty of Liverpool players, including Mo Salah, had arguably their best games of the season.
Tuesday night’s clash against very familiar Spanish foes offers further opportunity for the champions of England to boost their confidence. But it won’t be easy.
Real Madrid, now managed by former Liverpool hero Xabi Alonso, are coming in off a 2-1 win over Barcelona in El Clasico a fortnight ago and a 4-0 hammering of Valencia at the weekend.
Alsono’s men have a five-point lead at the top of La Liga and in 14 matches in all competitions this season they’ve won 13 of them.
That includes three wins out of three in the Champions League – 2-1 v Marseille and 1-0 v Juventus at home along with a 5-0 romp away to Kairat Almaty.
They’re one of five clubs in the 36-team group to have maximum points while Liverpool have six out of nine after wins over Atletico Madrid (3-2) and Eintracht Frankfurt (5-1) either side of a 1-0 loss away to Galatasaray.
How to watch Liverpool v Real Madrid
Liverpool v Real Madrid kicks off at 8pm GMT on Saturday, November 4 at Anfield.
The game will be shown live on Amazon Prime, with coverage starting from 7pm.
BBC Radio 5 Live will provide full match commentary.
Liverpool team news
After Ryan Gravenberch made a goalscoring return in the win over Villa, Arne Slot is confident that his key midfielder can go again after a three-match absence.
Given the magnitude of the occasion, Andy Robertson is likely to get the nod at left-back again with Milos Kerkez still struggling to adapt to life in a red shirt.
Florian Wirtz was only a sub against Aston Villa but the big-money signing has looked more at home in the Champions League so could start.
Alexander Isak, Curtis Jones, Jeremie Frimpong and Alisson Becker are all set to miss out again.
Liverpool expected line-up
(4-3-3) Mamardashvili; Bradley, van Dijk, Konate, Robertson; Gravenberch, Szoboszlai, Wirtz; Salah, Ekitike, Gakpo
Real Madrid team news
Will we get to see what sort of reception Trent-Alexander Arnold gets on his return to Anfield following his controversial summer move?
Perhaps not. The full-back hasn’t started for the visitors since suffering a hamstring injury in September so Xabi Alonso may opt to stick with Fede Valverde as the man to stand in for the absent Dani Carvajal.
Antonio Rudiger is another casualty not expected back imminently while David Alaba is also a doubt.
Further forward, Arda Guler has assisted Kylian Mbappe six times this season so should get the nod.
Real Madrid expected line-up
(4-4-2) Courtois; Valverde, Militao, Huijsen, Carreras; Diaz, Tchouameni, Guler, Vinicius Junior; Bellingham, Mbappe
Liverpool vs Read Madrid stats
– Liverpool were 2-0 victors at Anfield on Matchday 5 last season thanks to goals from Alexis Mac Allister and Cody Gakpo, Kylian Mbappé and Mohamed Salah both missing penalties as the Reds ended an eight-match winless run against Madrid (D1 L7).
– Liverpool have lost only two of their last 15 Champions League group stage/league phase matches against Spanish teams (W7 D6), winning the last five.
– A 3-2 win against Atletico Madrid on Matchday 1 this season made it three successive victories against Spanish sides for Liverpool.
– Madrid have won only two of their last nine matches against English teams (D3 L4), losing 0-3 away and 1-2 at home to Arsenal in last season’s quarter-finals.
– Liverpool have won 14 of their last 16 group stage/league phase matches (L2), triumphing 5-1 at Eintracht Frankfurt on Matchday 3. They have been victorious in the last 15 at Anfield, scoring two goals or more in the last 14.
– None of Liverpool’s last 29 European group stage/league phase matches finished in a draw.
– Kylian Mbappe has scored five goals in this season’s league phase – level with Harry Kane as top scorer after Matchday 3.
Liverpool vs Real Madrid predictions
In recent seasons, Real Madrid have had Liverpool’s number, beating them in the Champions League final in both 2018 (3-1) and 2022 (1-0).
Going into last season’s group phase clash on Merseyside, Real had won seven and drawn one of the previous eight meetings so there was extra joy for Reds fans as they watched their side win 2-0.
But, despite the win over Aston Villa, there remain serious doubts that this Liverpool side are playing anywhere near as well as the team from 12 months ago when the win over Madrid represented a sixth straight win in all comps.
That said, European nights at Anfield are special occasions and Liverpool have a superb home record in this competition.
The odds show it’s a pick ‘em with both sides quoted at 6/4 and the draw 11/4.
Liverpool haven’t drawn a game all season while, as the above stats show, none of their last 29 European group stage/league phase matches have ended all square.
We can read that both ways but it may pay to follow the ‘due one’ path here. A stalemate is fairly satisfactory for both teams at this stage of the tournament so take the 11/4 for the draw.
A 0-0 seems hugely unlikely, so how about the 7/2 for both Salah and Mbappe to score. Both missed penalties in this fixture last year so won’t want a repeat of that.
Mbappe is in scintillating form with 21 goals in 17 matches for club and country this term while Salah put in a much-improved display when opening the scoring against Villa.
