Champions League
2025-01-21 - Liverpool vs Lille
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: UEFA Champions League
Tuesday 21st January 2025 - Kick Off 8pm
This game is live on TV
Liverpool
It might have been a pivotal day in the Premier League title race after Liverpool scored two injury time goals to win at Brentford hours before Arsenal dropped two points from a winning position against Aston Villa. The momentum is back with Liverpool and they can turn their attention to the Champions League and securing a top two finish in the Group Stage.
Manager Arne Slot, like so many others, is unsure about the new format of the Champions League and what the implications are to finish top of the Group compared with simply securing any of the top eight places to earn direct entry into the Last 16. At least you know you miss a Knock Out Round by doing that, although Liverpool are unsure how much they benefit from being the only team with a perfect record through six games in the competition.
Liverpool were minutes away from being on a run of 1 win in 5 games in all competitions and even that would have been against League Two Accrington Stanley, but the late goals to win at Brentford will have provided the entire squad with a huge boost in confidence. They are back at Anfield this week and Liverpool are unbeaten in 13 games here in all competitions, although 2 of the last 4 have ended in 2-2 draws.
Joe Gomez and Diogo Jota have been ruled out for 'weeks not months' and are expected to return at some point next month at the earliest. The manager may still choose to freshen up his starting eleven after the efforts of Saturday and Darwin Nunez may be rewarded with a start after scoring both goals at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Lille
Last season's European run may have ended with a Penalty Shoot Out defeat to Aston Villa in the Europa Conference League Quarter Final, but Lille did not prevent that from stopping them earning a spot in the Champions League. They had to win Qualifiers against Fenerbahce and Slavia Prague to enter the Champions League Group Stage and Lille have gone from strength to strength within this section.
Avoiding elimination from the Group Stage would have been the target for Lille, but some big results over the last three months have pushed the team into 8th place in the table. Four points from the remaining two Group matches may be enough for Lille to secure a top eight finish, which would be a huge achievement, while domestic form has been solid enough to fight for a top three finish in France.
Lille had lost 4 straight games in and around the September international break, but the last of those against Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League Group Stage has sparked a 21 game unbeaten run in all competitions. They have beaten both Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid in the Champions League, and Lille head to the North West of England with an 11 game unbeaten run away from home to protect.
Samuel Umtiti and Tiago Santos are missing for the visiting team. Kylian's brother Ethan Mbappe is not expected to be ready to return.
Head to Head
Liverpool and Lille met in the Last 16 of the 2010 Europa League.
Eden Hazard actually scored the winning goal in France, but Liverpool progressed thanks to a 3-0 win at Anfield in the Second Leg.
Prediction
Outside of Paris Saint-Germain, there would not have been a lot of expectation of the likes of Brest, Monaco and Lille as representatives from France playing in the Champions League Group Stage.
Lille even had to win two Qualifying ties to merely join some of the elite names of European Football, but it is ironic that all three of those French clubs are on course for at least a Play Off tie in February, while Paris Saint-Germain are in danger of an embarrassing early elimination in the competition they want to win the most.
A strong run of form has pushed Lille forward domestically and in Europe and they will be hoping to finish in the top eight of the Champions League Group. They are clinging onto that final spot ahead of a game at Anfield, but Lille will be full of confidence and have to be respected having beaten both Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid in this Group already.
The side travel to Liverpool unbeaten in 11 away games in all competitions, even if 4 of 6 have ended in draws, and Lille will feel there is nothing to lose. Any positive result here will give them every chance of securing a top eight spot when hosting Feyenoord at home next week and Lille are very secure with what the manager expects from his players.
However, this is a tough place for any team to play and Liverpool have won plenty of games at Anfield both at home and in Europe. The aforementioned Real Madrid have lost here, and the likes of Bayer Leverkusen have also failed to contain a home team that are playing with a real confidence.
Recent results have been slightly iffy, but two late goals at Brentford might just have helped Liverpool turn a corner and the attacking threats all over the front line makes them very dangerous.
Arne Slot has offered plenty of respect to Lille for their performances and results so a strong Liverpool team will be selected with a win securing a top two spot in the Group. It might take a bit of time to just get on top of Lille in this one, but the expectation is that Liverpool will have the qualities to wear them down and it may end up being a relatively routine win even against a stubborn team like the visitors have become.
A lack of away goals of late is a worry for Lille and it may be asking too much for them to contain Liverpool with the options they will have coming off the bench.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Liverpool 2-0 Lille
