Liverpool FC and FC Barcelona are currently tied for third place with Bayern Munich with five Champions League titles.
- Date & Time
- May 1st, 2019 3:00pm
- Location
- Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain
Liverpool FC and FC Barcelona are currently tied for third place with Bayern Munich with five Champions League titles. Both teams are looking to break that tie and move into third place by themselves with another.
European title here, and whichever team advances will be favored against either Tottenham Hotspur or Ajax on June 1. Barcelona are favored to advance, but not by too much as many remember how close Liverpool came to
Champions League glory last season.
FC Barcelona vs. Liverpool FC
Champions League Odds:
It's been an incredibly difficult run for Liverpool to make it back to this stage of the Champions League. They were drawn into a tough group with Paris Saint-Germain and Napoli also in Group C, and they did themselves no favors by losing all three of their road matches. However, they managed to win their three home games by enough of a margin to advance over Napoli. Liverpool faced another tough draw from there, meeting Bayern Munich in the Round of 16, but the Reds grabbed a 3-1 win in Munich in the second leg to move on. In the quarterfinals, fortune finally smiled on them, as they made the most out of being drawn against Porto and cruised past the Portuguese club and into the semifinals.
Barcelona have been relatively untested at every stage of this year's Champions League run. After being stunned by AS Roma last year, they resolved to not overlook opponents this year, and they have yet to lose a match. Barca went 4-2-0 and finished first in a group that included Internazionale and Tottenham. After that, they were drawn against Lyon and waxed the French side in the second leg to earn a date with Manchester United. Barca beat United 4-0 on aggregate and looked a cut above in the second leg.
Injury Report
Only a handful of players are out for this match. Barcelona have not had Rafinha available for a few months now after he tore his MCL, but he is the only player that is definitely out for the club.
As for Liverpool, there are no starters that are guaranteed to miss this match. The Reds have not had Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain available all year, and they have only played Adam Lallana sparingly. Lallana is questionable, while the only other player that is on the injury report is Fabinho, and he is questionable.
Liverpool FC Player to Watch
Mo Salah is the player that will have to be on another level for Liverpool to advance here. Salah nearly led Liverpool to their sixth title last year, but the Reds fell just short. He has not been as consistent as he was last season, and the grind of not having a real offseason may have worn a bit on him. However, he is in fine form coming into this match.
FC Barcelona Player to Watch
There is no one more important to their club than Lionel Messi. Messi is in a class of his own as a player, and he has proven it throughout this season. His 33 La Liga goals are 12 more than the next closest player in the league (Luis Suarez), and he leads the league with 13 assists. He has been absurd in the Champions League too with 10 goals and three assists in eight matches, and his inability to be contained has been enormousfor Barcelona.
FC Barcelona vs Liverpool FC Betting Prediction
Jurgen Klopp is one of the two or three best managers in the game, and I have more faith in him than anyone else when it comes to beating a juggernaut. However, I don't think Klopp's ingenuity will be enough as Messi and Suarez each net a goal in a Barcelona win.
