Barcelona vs Liverpool LIVE
Uefa Champions League 2018-19 | Semi-final, first leg
Venue: Camp Nou, Barcelona
Date: Wednesday, May 1, 2019
Kick-off: 8pm BST, tonight
Referee: Bjorn Kuipers
European heavyweights Liverpool and Barcelona meet at Camp Nou tonight for the first leg of their Champions League semi-final.
Ernesto Valverde's Blaugrana have won LaLiga with three games to spare, meaning that the Spanish champions can fully focus on this mammoth tie against Liverpool.
As for Jurgen Klopp's Reds, they are chasing down Manchester City in a nail-biting Premier League title race, while also having to work out how to stop Lionel Messi.
The Barca legend has made Champions League glory his main aim this season, and it will take something special from Liverpool to set up a final against either Tottenham or Ajax.
Follow Barcelona vs Liverpool LIVE with Ben Hayward and David Lynch at Camp Nou!
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Barcelona vs Liverpool team news and line-ups
Roberto Firmino is only only fit enough for a place on the Liverpool bench.
The Brazil international missed Friday's win over Huddersfield with a thigh muscle tear, and has recovered enough for a place among the substitutes.
Manager Jurgen Klopp has made four changes from the comfortable win over the Terriers with Joe Gomez, James Milner, Fabinho and Joel Matip replacing Trent Alexander-Arnold, Jordan Henderson, Dejan Lovren and Daniel Sturridge.
Predicted line-ups
Barcelona XI: Ter Stegen, Sergi Roberto, Pique, Lenglet, Alba, Busquets, Rakitic, Vidal, Messi, Suarez, Coutinho
Subs: Cillessen, Semedo, Arthur, Dembele, Malcom, Umtiti, Alena
Liverpool XI: Alisson, Gomez, Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson, Fabinho, Milner, Wijnaldum, Keita, Mane, Salah
Subs: Mignolet, Lovren, Firmino, Henderson, Shaqiri, Origi, Alexander-Arnold
Score prediction: Barcelona 2-1 Liverpool
While two of Europe's most feared attacks will go head to head on Wednesday, it could be a cagey affair in Barcelona.
The Spanish giants remain favourites for the tie, but have shown their back line can be exploited this season. If Messi is on form, the hosts will expect to win - but Liverpool are more than capable of setting themselves up for the second leg with an away goal or two.
Head to head (h2h) history and results
The teams have met eight times in official Uefa competitions, with Liverpool edging those encounters. The Anfield club have won three times and drawn three times, with Barca winning twice.
The last time the two sides met was back in 2007 in the Champions League round-of-16, with Liverpool progressing on away goals after Craig Bellamy's infamous golf club goal celebration at Camp Nou.
TV channel and live stream, and online coverage
The match will be televised live on BT Sport 2, with coverage starting from 7pm. BT Sport subscribers will be able to stream the match online via the video player and the BT Sport app.
You can also follow all the action on Standard Sport's match blog from Camp Nou LIVE on the night.
