Liverpool are looking to make it six wins from six in the Champions League on Tuesday as they travel to Spain to take on Girona.
By Sam McGuire
Arne Slot’s men have a 100% record having beaten Real Madrid, RB Leipzig, Bayer Leverkusen, AC Milan and Bologna so far this season in Europe. The Reds are already into the knockout phase of the competition and this puts them in a fairly unique position for their final three group stage fixtures.
Will they look to keep momentum going in a bid to return to winning ways or will the former Feyenoord boss look at this game as an opportunity to rotate?
The season so far in Europe
Girona have found it difficult in Europe.
There’s no beating around the bush. Michel’s side find themselves in 30th position (of 36) in the new-look Champions League format.
The LaLiga side have lost four of their five matches in the competition. They were expected to lose to Paris Saint-Germain but defeats against Feyenoord and Sturm Graz came as a bit of a surprise. A heavy loss to PSV Eindhoven also dented their hopes of progression while their only victory arrived against Slovan Bratislava.
They have scored just four goals across their five outings and have conceded on nine occasions.
Liverpool, by comparison, have been perfect in Europe.
The Reds have 15 points from 15, they’ve scored 12 goals and have conceded just once. Inter Milan are the only team to have a better defensive record having kept clean sheets in all five of their games this term.
Current form
The Spanish side haven’t been able to replicate the heroics from last season. Girona claimed an unlikely third-place finish having amassed 81 points. Right now, they find themselves in ninth position, four points behind fifth and four points ahead of 14th.
They are winless in four and have conceded six goals across these four outings across all competitions, all while scoring just two goals.
Their home form in LaLiga hasn’t been great. They have played eight, won four and lost three this term. They’ve scored 15 and conceded 13 in these games. So no home comforts for the Blanquivermells.
Their top scorer in the league is 38-year-old Cristhian Stuani. You might remember him from his stint with Middlesborough. They also boast a former Liverpool transfer target too in Arnaut Danjuma.
Liverpool dropped points in their last outing against Newcastle United. The Magpies scored a late equaliser to halt the seven match winning run the Reds had been on. Still, Slot and his side are unbeaten since their shock defeat to Nottingham Forest in September. The Merseyside club had an unexpected break over the weekend after the Merseyside derby was postponed due to Storm Darragh. It hasn’t eased their injury crisis but the players that are fit had a bit of an extended break, so should be fit and firing.
The Injury situation
The 2019/20 Premier League champions are still without Alisson, Ibrahima Konaté, Conor Bradley, Kostas Tsimikas and Diogo Jota. Federico Chiesa was expected to play following his return to the first-team squad after a mini pre-season but he missed training on Monday with illness. He’s now a doubt for the match while Alexis Mac Allister is suspended.
Girona are expected to be without two key players in Yangel Herrera and Viktor Tsygankov. Other than that though, Michel has a full squad to pick from.
Prediction
Even if the Reds opt to go with a weaker XI, they should have enough quality at their disposal to pick up the win in Spain. We expect Liverpool to make it six wins from six in Europe.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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