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Liverpool hosts Real Madrid on Tuesday in one of the most eagerly anticipated Champions League matches of the 2025/26 league phase.
That the clubs have won a combined 21 European titles underlines the seismic nature of this encounter, and the build-up has been heightened further with the return of two former Reds to Anfield. There’s also a healthy rivalry that has developed over recent years between Liverpool and Real, who have met in four of the last five Champions League campaigns.
Arne Slot’s side won last year’s encounter, a night made even more famous by a Caoimhin Kelleher penalty save and Conor Bradley’s slide tackle on Kylian Mbappe. The Reds will be hoping for something similar on Tuesday, and we’ve rounded up the major pre-match talking points.
Trent's return
Trent Alexander-Arnold’s first Anfield appearance since his acrimonious exit over the summer has dialled the intensity up a notch.
The boyhood Red has been outspoken ahead of the game, giving a detailed interview to Amazon Prime in which he discussed the reception he is expected to receive, whether he would celebrate a goal, and how his first few months in the Spanish capital have gone.
Alexander-Arnold is not the only former Champions League-winning Red set to return on Tuesday. Xabi Alonso also departed Liverpool to sign for Real as a player, and over the summer was enticed back to the Bernabeu, this time as head coach.
Alonso did come up against Liverpool last season at Bayer Leverkusen, but this will be a different affair entirely for the former midfielder, who remains a popular figure at Liverpool.
Vital points on offer
Liverpool has amassed six points from the opening three games this season, and a defeat on Tuesday would leave the Reds in a difficult position to secure automatic qualification to the knockout stages.
Last term, 16 points were needed to finish in the top eight of the league phase and, should Liverpool lose on Tuesday, it would mean the Premier League champions could only finish on a maximum of 18.
In that scenario, it may take four wins from the remaining games against PSV Eindhoven, Inter Milan, Marseille and Qarabag to guarantee automatic qualification.
Selection dilemmas
Slot returned to last season’s winning formula on Saturday, which secured a first Premier League win since mid-September. Will the Dutchman stick with that XI or feel compelled to rotate given the intense fixture schedule?
There’s also uncertainty over whether Alexander Isak and Curtis Jones will be back for the clash at Anfield following recent injuries.
Should Slot look to make changes, Milos Kerkez and Florian Wirtz are two obvious players who could return to the line-up, with the latter drawing interest from Real over the summer.
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