Kenley Ward
Dailysports's expert
Real Madrid
Liverpool
Bonus up to $130/€100
On March 15, Santiago Bernabéu Stadium (Madrid) will host the second leg of the 1/8 finals of the Champions League, in which Real Madrid will compete with Liverpool. The battle will start at 21:00 CET.
Real Madrid
The team was able to take several trophies in the current season – the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup. Still, the higher mentioned results are a trifle for “the Meringues”, who are accustomed to victories of other scales, including within the framework of the past tempo already under the rule of Ancelotti. Nowadays, Carlo really loses at the inner arena to the main rival, Barcelona. It won “the Meringues” in both the Super Cup and the Copa del Rey (there will also be a return semi-final match, but the team had already lost a home one with a 0-1 score), but, that is the most important, the team cannot reach a success in the matches with “the Blaugranes” in the Primera. In general, Carletto will try to save the season (and possibly his position) through the Champions League. There the team managed to overcome the group stage in a pretty confident way. Moreover, the Spanish grandee defeated Liverpool in the first match of the 1/8 final stage. However, it conceded twice at the start of the game, and only then “answered” by means of five goals in a row.
Liverpool
The club seems to be changing priorities and the plans for the end of the current season during a month. At first, it seemed that “the Merseysiders” would try to correct the previous mistakes through the Champions League. And the beginning of the home match against the Spanish giant was more than promising – it turned out to score twice, with a rough failure made by Courtois. Still, that battle ended with an anti-record – a 2-5 misfire. Playing back three goals, especially in the away struggle, is a difficult task even for “the Reds”. At the same time, the club came to life in the Premier League. A string of victories, including an incredible 7-0 success in the match against Manchester United, combined with the misfires of a number of competitors, mean that the chances of finishing in the top 4 of the Premier League are more than real. The team has got a game with a potential competitor ahead – there will be a battle with Fulham, which may be a higher priority than a trip to Spain.
The statistics of head-to-head matches
A 5-2 victory at Anfield became the sixth one for Real Madrid in the head-to-head matches with Liverpool, which has achieved only one draw during the whole period.
Predictions
Bookmakers give preference to “the Meringues”. Nevertheless, both clubs can already just play in a pretty open way. Thus, the fans should be aware of “total: over 2.5” (odd: 1.6).
Bonus up to $130/€100
