Liverpool will clash heads with Red Bull Leipzig at the Puskas Arena on Wednesday night as they try to get something going for them on the field after a poor run of results in the Premier League. The Reds suffered a narrow 1-0 loss at the hands of Fulham last weekend, so Jurgen Klopp will be desperately trying to put an end to their miserable form by guiding his players to a positive result in midweek.
Talking Tactics
Klopp will probably set his team up in a 4-3-3 formation and could instruct his players to take a more cautious approach than usual, considering they already have a healthy two-goal lead going into this second leg.
Leipzig boss Julian Nagelsmann will opt for a 3-5-2 formation and might ask his players to control the game in midfield and create enough chances to get themselves back into the tie. The German manager will also have to ensure that his defenders are not left too exposed at the back on the counter.
Team News
Liverpool
Both Ozan Kabak and Roberto Firmino are significant concerns for this game after they missed last weekend’s loss versus the Clarets in the Premier League due to injury. Otherwise, there are no fresh injury concerns for Klopp to cope with later this week.
Liverpool Predicted XI
Alisson Becker; Trent Alexander-Arnold, Fabinho, Nathaniel Phillips, Andrew Robertson; Curtis Jones, Georginio Wijnaldum, Thiago Alcântara; Diogo Jota, Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mané
Red Bull Leipzig
Willi Orban and Angelino will be in a race against time to be fit for this clash. However, both Konrad Laimer and Dominik Szoboszlai are injured and won’t be available for this game.
Red Bull Leipzig Predicted XI
Peter Gulácsi; Tyler Adams, Nordi Mukiele, Dayot Upamecano, Lukas Klostermann; Marcel Sabitzer, Kevin Kampl; Dani Olmo, Emil Forsberg, Yussuf Poulsen, Christopher Nkunku
Key Men
Liverpool
Both Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah were the goal-scorers in the first leg and will carry most of the goal-scoring workload for the Reds up top. Alisson Becker and Fabinho will also need to have a great game at the back if the Merseysiders want to keep a clean sheet on Wednesday night.
Red Bull Leipzig
A lot of Leipzig’s attacking plays will go through Dani Olmo and Emil Forsberg, so the dynamic duo will have to figure out a way to exploit Liverpool’s defensive weaknesses during the 90 minutes. Peter Gulacsi can expect to have a busy night against his former club, so he will have to make some good saves to keep his team in the tie.
Odds
The Reds are 13/10 favourites to win the game, according to the bookmakers. The draw has been listed at 13/5, while the German club are 19/10 underdogs to claim a positive result at the Puskas Arena in midweek.
