Rio Ferdinand tips Liverpool to meet Xabi Alonso's Bayer Leverkusen in UEL final, predicts shock result
Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has backed Xabi Alonso's Bayer Leverkusen to face Liverpool in the Europa League final and beat the Reds. After witnessing four excellent games in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals, it is time for the Europa League quarter-finals on Thursday, April 11.
The Europa League quarter-finals will see Liverpool take on Italian giants Atalanta and the English giants are the outright favorites for the trophy. However, Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen are also in the Europa League and could be the biggest threat to the Merseyside outfit.
TNT Sports pundit Rio Ferdinand has backed Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen to face each other in the Europa League final in Dublin, Ireland, on May 22. The former England defender also tipped Alonso to get one over his former club and clinch the trophy.
Ferdinand has backed Benfica, AC Milan, Bayer Leverkusen, and Liverpool to advance to the semi-finals by beating Marseille, AS Roma, West Ham United, and Atalanta, respectively. He then predicted a final between Klopp's side and Leverkusen by beating Benfica and AC Milan, respectively.
Meanwhile, fellow pundits Joe Cole, Tom Lockyer, and Glenn Hoddle tipped West Ham United, Liverpool, and Leverkusen, respectively, to win the Europa League. Jurgen Klopp's side are also embroiled in a three-horse race for the Premier League title and have already won the League Cup this season.
Meanwhile, Bayer Leverkusen are runaway leaders in the Bundesliga and have a 16-point lead over second-placed Bayern Munich. They are unbeaten across competitions this season and have also made it to the DFB Pokal final, where they will take on FC Kaiserslautern.
Xabi Alonso keeps door open for Premier League management after snubbing Liverpool
Former Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso has admitted that he could move to the Premier League as a manager in the future. The Spaniard emerged as the favorite to succeed Jurgen Klopp at the Anfield hot seat in the summer, with the German deciding to step down.
However, the former Real Madrid and Bayern Munich midfielder has snubbed the chance to move to the Merseyside giants and will stay at the BayArena. However, he has kept the door open for a switch to the top flight of English football in the future.
Ahead of Bayer Leverkusen's Europa League clash against West Ham United, the former Real Madrid midfielder said:
"You never know… At the moment I have enough on my plate to think about, but I'm still young as a coach and for sure it's a nice opportunity."
Alonso is guiding Bayer Leverkusen to a historic season that could see them win a treble. His side are 16 points clear at the top of the Bundesliga table and look destined to win the coveted trophy for the first time in their history.
On top of that, they are unbeaten across all competitions, having also made the final of the DFB Pokal and the quarter-finals of the Europa League.