Champions League
2026-01-28 - Liverpool vs Qarabag
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: UEFA Champions League Match Day 8
Wednesday 28th January 2025 - Kick Off 8pm
This game is live on TV
Liverpool
It looked like Liverpool had done enough to battle back and earn a draw at the Vitality Stadium and extend the unbeaten run, but a late mistake from Captain Virgil Van Dijk led to an injury time defeat to Bournemouth. Once again reports have Liverpool contemplating whether to dismiss the manager that took them to the Premier League title just last May, but for now Arne Slot remains in charge as he looks to pick his players up.
Domestic results have been very disappointing for Liverpool for a while, but the 0-3 win at Marseille last week pushed them into the top four of the Champions League. A point might be enough to earn progression into the Last 16 of the competition, and avoiding two more games in February, while a win guarantees the top eight finish that feels important if only to allow the squad some rest in February.
Liverpool's defeat on the South Coast on Saturday means they have not won any of the last 5 Premier League games played, but they have maintained some momentum in Cup competitions and have won 3 in a row in those settings since the 1-4 home loss to PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League. That was the last home game played in this competition, but Liverpool have beaten Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid at Anfield this season.
Joe Gomez went off with a potential concussion and will not be risked, while Ibrahima Konate is away on compassionate leave and may not be involved. The manager is expected to make some changes to freshen up his starting eleven with the likes of Andy Robertson, Curtis Jones and Hugo Ekitike available to start.
Qarabag
Ten minutes were left on the clock on Match Day 7 of the Champions League game against Eintracht Frankfurt and Qarabag looked to be on course to suffer a pivotal defeat as they trailed 1-2 at home. The team had not played a competitive game in a month with the Winter Break domestically and that was also a factor, but Qarabag managed to score twice to turn the game on its head and put themselves in a position to Qualify for the Knock Out Rounds.
Last season it took 11 points for teams to make it out of the League Phase of the Champions League and Qarabag have moved to 10 points on the board with this last fixture to play after beating Eintracht Frankfurt last week. That also has Qarabag sitting in 18th place in the Champions League table and there is a feeling that they already have enough points to earn a spot in the Play Off Round next month, although a win at Anfield would guarantee progress no matter how other results land.
Qarabag made wholesale changes this past weekend and were beaten 0-2 at home, but they had won 3 of the previous 4 games in all competitions. The away form going into the Winter Break was not the most convincing, while Qarabag have lost away Champions League games at Athletic Bilbao and Napoli since upsetting Benfica back in September.
As mentioned, the decision was made to rest the key squad members in anticipation of this game at Anfield.
Head to Head
This is the first competitive meeting between these clubs.
Prediction
Both teams have something tangible to play for on Match Day 8 of the Champions League, although the feeling is that Liverpool could be more vulnerable to missing out on an important target if they were to lose this game.
It may have took 11 points for teams to Qualify for the Knock Out Rounds last season, but Qarabag's 10 points may be enough already this time around. Outside of at least two upsets being produced, it is hard to imagine Qarabag dropping from 18th to 25th in the standings with the fixtures left on Match Day 8, although that does not mean they will be willing to roll over easily.
Qarabag have done really well to move onto double digits in terms of points, but the large majority have been earned at home.
In away games at Athletic Bilbao and Napoli, Qarabag have been pretty well beaten and even an out of sorts Liverpool have the quality and depth to produce too much for the visiting team to handle.
Following the 3-2 loss at Bournemouth, Arne Slot will want his team to produce a positive reaction that will take Liverpool through to the Last 16 of the competition. They have kept some of the better performances in recent weeks for Cup competitions and Anfield will still have an aura for a club like Qarabag to deal with.
That could be key to the outcome of this one with Liverpool expected to have too much in the final third.
A makeshift defence is not easy to trust, but Liverpool have kept clean sheets in this competition against superior attacking teams than the one that will be visiting on Wednesday night. That includes consecutive away clean sheets in wins at Inter Milan and Marseille and Liverpool can secure another 'win to nil' in this one.
The Statistics :
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Pick :
Liverpool 3-0 Qarabag
