The 5th round of the UEFA Champions League continues this week, with 9 matches scheduled for today.
One of the most eagerly awaited fixtures of the night is the match between Liverpool and Real Madrid, as Idman.biz reports.
This game will feature the only team in the Champions League yet to lose a match, and the leader of the English Premier League, facing the current holders of the Champions League title. Liverpool could overtake Inter at the top of the group with a win, moving to 13 points, but it won't be an easy task.
While Real Madrid has been struggling, sitting in 21st place with 6 points, they have a successful history against Liverpool. After losing twice to the English club in the 2009 Champions League Round of 16 (0:1, 0:4), Madrid has gone unbeaten in their next eight encounters with Liverpool. They even won the Champions League in 2018 (3:1) and 2022 (1:0), and last year, in their most recent match at Anfield, Real Madrid dominated with a 5:2 victory.
Ahead of today's match, Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti responded firmly to questions regarding his decision not to substitute Vinícius Júnior during the game against Leganés, which led to the Brazilian winger being sidelined with an injury for about a month. Ancelotti remarked: “I hear a lot of advice, but keep in mind that I’ve coached 1300 games, selected squads 1300 times, and made over 4000 substitutions. None of these people can advise me. Vinícius and Valverde were in good form after returning from international duty, and that’s the end of it. Sometimes injuries happen, and we all know why – because there are so many games.”
Liverpool coach Arne Slot also shared his thoughts on Vinícius’s absence: “We prepare differently depending on whether a player like him plays or not. It’s difficult to predict what to expect. He played almost every match, so it’s tough to know what will happen now. Their lineup will surprise us, but we know they have other great players.”
Slot also commented on Kylian Mbappé, another star of Real Madrid: “I’m not concerned with which position is optimal for him, but his qualities as a player. He has proven many times how difficult he is to defend. He is undoubtedly one of the best players in the world right now.”
In other matches of the day, Aston Villa will face Juventus. The English side has 9 points and sits in 12th place, while Juventus is in 16th with 7 points. Aston Villa has gone six games without a win, whereas Juventus is unbeaten in their last six, although four of those matches ended in draws.
Champions League Group Stage, 5th Round
November 27
21:45 Red Star Belgrade – Stuttgart
21:45 Sturm Graz – Girona
00:00 Aston Villa – Juventus
00:00 Bologna – Lille
00:00 Celtic – Brugge
00:00 Dinamo Zagreb – Borussia Dortmund
00:00 Liverpool – Real Madrid
00:00 Monaco – Benfica
00:00 PSV Eindhoven – Shakhtar Donetsk
Idman.biz
