Paul Merson makes prediction for UCL fixture between Liverpool and Real Madrid
Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson feels Liverpool have 'no chance' against Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League when the sides meet for the second-leg this week.
Los Blancos beat the Reds 5-2 at Anfield in the first-leg last month and have one foot in the quarter-finals. Despite trailing 2-0 early on, the defending champions mounted a stunning comeback to clinch the game.
With the 'away goals' rule scrapped, Jurgen Klopp's side must win the second leg by at least a three-goal margin to avoid defeat, which Merson doesn't see happening.
In his prediction column for Sky Sports, he wrote:
"Managers have to keep level-headed and so do players. Liverpool had a great result against Manchester United that will put them in the history books but then you've got to turn up and perform at Bournemouth.
"When you watch the Bournemouth game you think, 'What chance have Liverpool got at Real Madrid?' Needing to score three, at least, is a big ask, it would be one of the greatest Champions League comebacks of all time. Barcelona did it against PSG but that was at home. This is away at the cup holders. If it was two goals then you never know, but three...I give them no chance."
Just six days after beating Manchester United 7-0 in a historic game, Liverpool went down 1-0 to the relegation-battling Bournemouth. Ironically, they had beaten the Cherries 9-2 back in September.
Such a stark difference in results is in keeping with the side's erratic form all season. They could be set for another battering at the Santiago Bernabeu in the return leg.
However, Merson added that the Merseyside club's recent defeat to 18th-placed Cherries showed why the English Premier League is the best top-flight league in the world.
He wrote:
"This is why wherever you go in the world, the Premier League is being shown because one of the bottom three teams can beat one of the top teams.
"You never get it where Bournemouth rest everybody for next week's game because they don't think they'll beat Liverpool. That doesn't happen in the Premier League and that's why it's the best league in the world."
Liverpool haven't beaten Real Madrid since 2009
Back in the 2008-09 season, the English club beat Real Madrid home and away to prevail 5-0 on aggregate, and that remains their last victory in the fixture.
Since then, the Reds have lost six in seven clashes with the Spanish giants, including two Champions League finals. They lost 3-1 in the 2018 final and suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat last season.
Given their current form, it will take a mighty effort from Jurgen Klopp's side to avoid another loss in the Spanish capital.