Liverpool vs Bayern Munich
Uefa Champions League 2018-19 | Round of 16, first leg
Venue: Anfield
Date: Tuesday, February 19, 2019
Kick-off: 8pm GMT
European heavyweights Liverpool and Bayern Munich lock horns at Anfield on Tuesday night in arguably the most eagerly-anticipated Champions League last-16 clash.
The hosts secured their spot in the first knockout phase in dramatic fashion as a goal from Mohamed Salah and a terrific late Alisson stop sealed a 1-0 win over Napoli and the runner-up spot behind Paris Saint-Germain in Group C.
Jurgen Klopp's side bounced back from successive draws that saw them slip behind Manchester City in an absorbing Premier League title race to brush aside Bournemouth last weekend and should be well rested by the time Bayern come to Merseyside with their FA Cup involvement having been ended in the third round by Wolves.
Liverpool have taken advantage of the gap in the fixture list to embark upon their second warm-weather training camp of 2019 already. After heading to Dubai in January, this time they chose the sunny climes of Marbella on Spain's Costa del Sol.
Bayern enjoyed an easier route to the last 16, going undefeated en route to topping a group that also contained Ajax, Benfica and AEK Athens.
Having won each of the last six Bundesliga titles, the Bavarians have trailed Borussia Dortmund for much of this season but managed to cut the deficit to five points ahead of a trip to struggling FC Augsburg on Friday night.
Liverpool vs Bayern Munich team news and predicted line-ups
Klopp is facing something of a defensive crisis ahead of the first leg, with Virgil van Dijk suspended after his yellow card against Napoli and Joe Gomez recovering from surgery on a fractured leg suffered at Burnley in December.
Dejan Lovren was absent from that Marbella trip due to the recurrence of a hamstring problem and Fabinho, who may be asked to play as a makeshift centre-back alongside Joel Matip, has a minor muscle complaint.
James Milner and Georginio Wijnaldum were held out of the first training session in Spain as a precaution, while long-term absentee Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is working his way back to fitness after a knee injury.
Trent Alexander-Arnold and Jordan Henderson will be pushing for starts after both returning to the bench in the win over Bournemouth, but Xherdan Shaqiri has been dealing with a minor abdominal complaint.
Liverpool XI (4-3-3): Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Fabinho, Robertson, Milner, Keita, Wijnaldum, Salah, Firmino, Mane
As for Bayern, captain Manuel Neuer is expected to be fit after missing games against Bayer Leverkusen and Schalke with a thumb issue.
Corentin Tolisso (ACL tear) has been out since September, while Arjen Robben's last game was in November. He has been bothered by a persistent thigh injury.
Thomas Muller will miss both legs against Liverpool after his appeal against a red card received in the final group game against Ajax for a challenge on Nicolas Tagliafico was dismissed.
Bayern Munich XI (4-3-3): Neuer, Kimmich, Hummels, Sule, Alaba, Goretzka, Thiago, James, Coman, Gnabry, Lewandowski
Score prediction: Liverpool 2-2 Bayern Munich
Bayern conceded only five times in six matches during the group stage, but Liverpool are a formidable scoring force at Anfield and their chances of keeping a clean sheet to take back to Munich seem very slim indeed.
There are plenty of goals in both teams and Robert Lewandowski will fancy his chances of exploiting a significantly understrength home defence to add to his tally of eight scored in this year's tournament so far.
Liverpool vs Bayern Munich tickets
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Betting tips via Betfair | UK users only | Subject to change
Match odds
- Liverpool to win: Evens
- Draw: 27/10
- Bayern Munich to win: 27/10
- 2-2 draw: 10/1
- Over 3.5 goals: 7/5
Click here to find the latest match odds and place a bet.
TV channel and live stream, and online coverage
The match will be televised live on BT Sport 2 and BT Sport 4K UHD. BT Sport subscribers will be able to stream the match online via the video player and the BT Sport app.
You can follow all the action with Standard Sport's LIVE blog at Anfield.
Head to Head history and results (h2h)
The two sides have met on only five previous occasions and boast a win each, with three draws.
Their last contest came 18 years ago, when Liverpool became the first English club to win five trophies in a calendar year with a 3-2 victory in the Uefa Super Cup in Monaco.
John Arne Riise, Emile Heskey and Michael Owen all scored for Gerard Houllier's Uefa Cup holders at the Stade Louis II, while goals from Bayern duo Hasan Salihamidzic and Carsten Jancker were not enough to force extra-time.
They also squared off in the 1981 European Cup semi-finals and in the 1971-72 European Cup Winners' Cup semi-finals.
