Liverpool vs Barça: Preview
The Catalan giants are in a wonderful position to qualify for the Final, but cannot let complacency hurt them
Liverpool FC vs FC Barcelona
Competition/Round: 2018-19 Champions League, Semifinals, Second Leg
First Leg Result: Barcelona 3-0 Liverpool
Barcelona Outs & Doubts: Ousmane Dembélé, Rafinha (out)
Liverpool Outs & Doubts: Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino, Naby Keita, Adam Lallana (out)
Date/Time: Tuesday, May 7, 2019, 9pm CET, 8pm BST/WAT (UK & Nigeria), 3pm ET, 12pm PT (USA), 12.30am IST (India, Wednesday)
Venue: Anfield, Liverpool, England
Referee: Cüneyt Çakır (TUR)
How to watch on TV: TNT (USA), BT Sport 2 (UK), Canal+ Sport 1 (Nigeria), SONY TEN 2 (India), Movistar Liga de Campeones (Spain), others
How to stream: FuboTV, B/R Live (USA), BT Sport Live (UK), Movistar+ (Spain), others
So here we are, 90 minutes away from the Champions League Final. It’s a been a while, four years in fact, since Barcelona fans had that feeling, and boy is it exhilarating. It’s been the only thing in my mind since last week, and, you know, I have a life and stuff. But I can’t have a life right now, not until Barça go to Anfield, survive a crazy amount of pressure from Liverpool, and book their place in the title match.
Last week was special. The game was up and down, Liverpool were awesome, there were some questionable refereeing decisions, but Lionel Messi happened and we have a 3-0 lead going into the second leg. That felt amazing, and we are really, really close. And that could be a problem: if the players have any complacency and think this is over, they’re in trouble. Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino missing through injury may also cause the Blaugrana to be 2% less intense and focused, and they’ll be in trouble.
Barça need to be at their best. They need to understand how much Liverpool will press and how Jurgen Klopp teams never, ever, give up, and the atmosphere at Anfield will be the best and most hostile the Catalans have faced all season. This is the last test before a shot at glory in Madrid. Let’s see if they’re ready to pass it.
POSSIBLE LINEUPS
Barcelona (4-3-3): Ter Stegen; Roberto, Piqué, Lenglet, Alba; Vidal, Busquets, Rakitic; Messi, Suárez, Coutinho
Liverpool (4-3-3): Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson; Henderson, Fabinho, Wijnaldum; Shaqiri, Origi, Mané
PREDICTION
The crowd will be amazing and Liverpool will give everything, but Salah and Firmino being out is a really big deal: 2-1 Barça.
Source: barcablaugranes.com
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