Champions League: Will Liverpool’s EPL slump carry over into the second leg?
Liverpool is currently experiencing one of their worst moments in recent years. They have lost six games in their last seven in the Premier League.
Many fans are concerned this bad form could carry over into their Champions League second leg against RB Leipzig on Wednesday night.
It should be an easy game for Liverpool with them having a two-goal advantage and the away goal rule working in their favor – having played as the visiting team in the first leg in the Puskás Aréna.
Is Liverpool lucky the game will not be played at Anfield?
The Reds were scheduled to play at Anfield but COVID-19 restrictions have prohibited them from doing so.
They will now, for the second time in Champions League football, play the reverse fixture in Budapest at the same venue, the Puskás Aréna.
This in some way has to be a blessing in disguise for Jurgen Klopp and his Reds. They are winless in their last eight games at Anfield, losing six consecutive home games before welcoming the Bundesliga outfit to Anfield.
They have to be relieved about it but quite frankly, Liverpool has been in dismal form since the year turned 2021.
The Germans will see this as an advantage to them, knowing they are playing the wounded Premier League giant. They will want to kick a dog while he is down and there is no better time than now.
Leipzig leading into this UCL clash are on the up and are on a winning streak of six games in the Bundesliga with three of them being away wins – all three wins they recorded three goals while keeping three clean sheets.
Klopp will not have the services of the following players:
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- Joe Gomez
- Virgil Van Dijk
- Jordan Henderson
- Joel Matip
Also, Ozan Kabak and Roberto Firmino are doubts for the Reds, with the former having featured in the latest Kirkby training.
While Liverpool endures a handful of absentees Leipzig sweats fewer injury problems. They only have two players sidelined for lengthy spells but the duo absent are important figures to Julian Nagelsmann – they are Konrad Laimer and Dominik Szoboszlai. Also, Willi Orban and Angelino are doubts for the German side.
If this game was played on paper, the Reds should advance to the next round comfortably. However, Leipzig is having a very good season being placed 2nd in the Bundesliga standings (just two points behind Bayern) and they could use their momentum to create a miracle in the Champions League, a place accustomed to surprises.
Liverpool as I said before, is not enjoying a very good moment and this could really hurt them going into the game. They are nowhere close to European qualification spots in the EPL standings and being eliminated from the Champions League in the round of 16 would determine their season a massive failure.
Being eliminated from the Champions League so early could also make the team morale go way down which could cause them to lose even more points in their domestic run.
Personally, I think Leipzig would win the match but I don’t think they would qualify for the next round. They would probably win 1-0 or a scoreline that would put Liverpool through to the next round.
I think that Klopp is smart enough to know that if he loses this game his days at Anfield might be numbered and Liverpool’s season would be practically done. Sometimes in these types of games, experience wins over quality.
I think that Leipzig at this moment is the better team but Liverpool has more experienced players and a more experienced manager in Klopp – and this could be a big factor in the result.
Related Story. Jurgen Klopp far from done at Liverpool. light
But as stated before, this is the Champions League and anything can happen. We have seen many surprises in this beautiful and cut-throat competition in these last years.