‘Creates the most doubt’ – Where are Real Madrid vulnerable against Liverpool in the Champions League?

Real Madrid are not in crisis but there are issues ahead of their trip to Anfield to face Liverpool in the first leg of the Champions League last 16 – the biggest of those being the midfield.

The defending European and world champions have stumbled at times in 2023, losing away at Villarreal and Mallorca in La Liga, as well as being easily dismissed by rivals Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup final.

They find themselves eight points behind Barca in the league, although they did lift the Club World Cup earlier in February. Now they travel to Merseyside where they face Liverpool in a rematch of the 2018 and 2022 Champions League finals, albeit over two legs.

Ahead of the first reunion, we got in touch with Eurosport Spain’s Felix Martin to find out a bit more about what is going on currently with Liverpool’s opponents.

“Despite the ups and downs that Real Madrid have gone through in recent La Liga matches, I would say that they arrive in a very consistent moment,” Martin explains of Carlo Ancelotti’s side.

“Especially because it has historically been shown that even when Real Madrid are not at their best in La Liga, the situation changes radically in the Champions League.”

Martin added that when the draw was made for the last 16 he initially believed Madrid would be feeling confident given Liverpool’s struggles, but he says the recent uptick in form for Jurgen Klopp’s side has levelled the playing field.

Martin also highlighted Ancelotti’s selection dilemma, with a number of players missing and others struggling for form or fitness. He added that because of that it is difficult to know where certain players, like Uruguay’s Federico Valverde, will line-up on Tuesday.

“Madrid have just confirmed that Toni Kroos and Aurelien Tchouameni won’t be available for this first match,” continued Martin.

“Karim Benzema arrives in a tough moment of form and did not play against Osasuna. That is the reason why Ancelotti has called up Alvaro Rodriguez, a Uruguayan striker from Castilla [Real Madrid’s B Team] who had a great U-20 South American Championship.

“However, players like Rodrygo, Valverde, [Dani] Ceballos and [Marco] Asensio seem to have regained their best form, so we expect them to have quite a prominent role in the two games against Liverpool.

“I think the midfield line is the one that creates the most doubts for Ancelotti.

“While the defence seems to be clear with [Eder] Militao and [Antonio] Rudiger at centre-back, along with [David] Alaba and Nacho at left- and right-back, the only player who is 100% going to start in midfield is Luka Modric – the rest will vary depending on Ancelotti’s formation.

“Valverde will start for sure, but we’ll see if he starts on the right wing or as a right midfielder, depending on how many midfielders Ancelotti wants to play against Liverpool.

“If I were him, I’d go with Modric, [Eduardo] Camavinga, Ceballos and Valverde, and then Benzema and Vinicius up front.”