Familiar foes Liverpool and Real Madrid serve up a repeat of the 2021-22 Champions League final when they renew hostilities at Anfield on Tuesday for the first leg of their last-16 tie.

Jurgen Klopp’s crop placed second in Group A behind Italian powerhouses Napoli to set up a reunion with the holders, who beat Celtic, Shakhtar Donetsk and RB Leipzig to first place in Group F.

Arguably the UEFA Champions League’s (UCL) most blockbuster last-16 tie sees a replay of the 2017/18 and 2021/22 finals, with six-time winners Liverpool taking on defending and record holding 14-time champions Real Madrid.

Liverpool will host the first-leg after finishing second in Group A, and Jürgen Klopp’s men may be breathing a huge sigh of relief after back-to-back 2-0 wins in league action has released some of the growing pressure on the German boss and his side.

Despite the Reds’ poor season by their own exceptionally high standards, a fiery Anfield atmosphere on a European night will still be expected.

Although they’ve lost only one of their last 23 home games (W16, D6), Liverpool probably couldn’t have handpicked a tougher opponent to extend that record against than Madrid, especially as Klopp’s side have failed to get the better of their Spanish counterparts in each of the last six H2Hs (D1, L5).

Besides their impressive form, Los Blancos will feel they’ll still be required to up their game, having won only once in their last seven UCL visits to England (D2, L4). A potentially hostile welcome awaits manager Carlo Ancelotti too, especially since he guided Liverpool’s city rivals Everton to a 2-0 win in his last visit to Anfield, meaning he’s lost only twice in his last 11 managerial meetings with the Reds (W6, D3).

Players to watch: Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah is one UCL goal away from tying Didier Drogba (44 goals) as the highest scoring African player in the competition. Meanwhile, Karim Benzema could become the first Madrid player to ever score in six different competitions in a single season should he find the net during these two ties.

Hot stat: Only one of Liverpool’s nine previous matches in the UCL last 16 produced over 2.5 goals in 90 minutes.

Liverpool Champions League form:

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Liverpool form (all competitions):

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Real Madrid Champions League form:

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Real Madrid form (all competitions):

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The result of Tuesday’s highly-anticipated first leg may very well hinge on how many players Klopp and Ancelotti can recover from the treatment room, but an exhilarating showdown should be on the cards nonetheless.

While Liverpool have regained some momentum at the right time and can expose Real’s fitness concerns in midfield, Los Blancos are never to be underestimated in the Champions League and should have Benzema fit and firing in a fearsome attack, so we simply cannot separate the two continental giants and believe that everything will be left to play for at the Bernabeu next month.

Liverpool possible starting lineup:

Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson; Bajcetic, Fabinho, Henderson; Salah, Gakpo, Jota

Real Madrid possible starting lineup:

Courtois; Carvajal, Militao, Rudiger, Alaba; Ceballos, Camavinga, Modric; Valverde, Benzema, Vinicius Jr