Liverpool will be eager to continue the perfect start to the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League when they welcome LOSC Lille to Anfield on Tuesday.
The 2024/25 UEFA Champions League resumes this week with the penultimate round of fixtures. Matchday 7 will kick-start with two early games before the action continues with nine simultaneous matches, including Liverpool vs LOSC Lille at Anfield.
Liverpool could not have asked for a better debut in the UEFA Champions League campaign under Arne Slot. The Reds have barely put a foot wrong, conceding only one goal and winning all six games thus far. However, the Merseyside outfit will be wary of recent performances, even though the slip in form has not resulted in many defeats.
Slot’s charges were not at their best this past weekend, but they managed to hold their nerve to eke a 2-0 win over Brentford. A repeat performance against LOSC Lille might not give them a similar result. Speaking of, the Ligue 1 giants have been one of the most impressive teams in the UEFA Champions League this season.
Several high-profile clubs are behind Les Dogues in the UEFA Champions League standings, with Atletico Madrid, AC Milan, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Juventus, Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain, and Real Madrid behind the away side.
The excellent run has come after Lille lost the season-opening fixture before embarking on a five-game unbeaten streak to occupy the eighth spot in the standings. Bruno Genesio’s men have not lost their last 21 games in all competitions, with their most recent defeat coming in September.
Liverpool and LOSC Lille have one win apiece from their only two clashes thus far, although the Reds reached the 2009/10 UEFA Europa League quarter-finals at Les Dogues’ expense with a 3-1 aggregate victory. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News & Tactics
Liverpool
Arne Slot does not have any new injury concerns hampering his preparations ahead of his side’s latest fixture. The Liverpool manager will be bereft of the services of only one first-team player vs LOSC Lille, with Joe Gomez still recovering from a hamstring injury.
Alisson Becker will take his spot between the sticks, with Liverpool lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him against LOSC Lille on Tuesday. Considering Liverpool’s position in the UEFA Champions League standings, Slot will likely make several rotations this midweek to keep his troops fresh.
So, the backline should feature Trent Alexander-Arnold, Jarell Quansah, Virgil van Dijk, and Andrew Robertson. Quansah will come in for Konate, with Slot carefully managing his fitness. Meanwhile, Ryan Gravenberch has appeared winded in recent outings.
So, in the midfield unit, Curtis Jones should line up with Alexis Mac Allister in the double pivot. Harvey Elliott will likely reprise the No. 10 role after his impressive cameo against Brentford. Finally, Darwin Nunez will lead the line for Liverpool vs LOSC Lille, with Mohamed Salah and Luis Diaz being the two wide attackers.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Quansah, van Dijk, Robertson; Jones, Mac Allister; Salah, Elliott, Diaz; Nunez
LOSC Lille
Like his counterpart in the Liverpool dugout, Bruno Genesio does not have any new issues to worry about ahead of the trip to Anfield. The LOSC Lille manager will be without four first-team players on Tuesday.
Tiago Santos is out for the rest of the season due to a long-term knee injury. The Portuguese defender accompanies Samuel Umtiti (unspecified), Ethan Mbappe (hamstring) and Edon Zhegrova (groin) on the sidelines.
Lucas Chevalier is an automatic pick between the sticks, with LOSC Lille lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him vs Liverpool on Tuesday. The backline should feature Thomas Meunier, Bafode Diakite, Alexsandro Ribeiro and Ismaily.
As for the midfield unit, Benjamin Andre should pair up with Ayyoub Bouaddi in the double pivot, with Remy Cabella reprising the No. 10 role. Finally, Osame Sahraoui and Mitchel Bakker should be the two wide attackers, with Jonathan David leading the line for Lille against Liverpool on Tuesday.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Chevalier; Meunier, Diakite, Alexsandro, Ismaily; Andre, Bouaddi; Bakker, Cabella, Sahraoui; David
Key Stats
- Liverpool and Lille’s only previous meetings in Europe came back in the 2009/10 UEFA Europa League, with the Reds progressing from the round of 16 with a 3-1 aggregate victory (lost 0-1 away and won 3-0 at home).
- Lille have only won one of their ten games against English sides in the UEFA Champions League (D2 L7), losing the last six. Their only victory against an English opponent in the competition was in November 2005, beating Manchester United 1-0 in a home game.
- Only two French sides have ever won away to Liverpool in major European competition (Marseille in 2007 and Lyon in 2009), with 12 of their 15 combined trips ending in defeat (D1). The former was the only side to keep a clean sheet at Anfield from the 15 attempts in a 1-0 victory in 2007. Meanwhile, the Reds have won their ten most recent group/league phase games at Anfield in the UEFA Champions League, scoring 22 goals and conceding only three times. The last team to avoid defeat or keep a clean sheet there in the group/league phase was Atalanta back in November 2020 (a 2-0 win).
- LOSC Lille are unbeaten in their last five matches in the UEFA Champions League (W4 D1), their longest run ever in the competition. Their hosts are the only side on a longer current unbeaten streak in the competition (6).
- 13 different Liverpool players have scored or assisted a goal in the UEFA Champions League this season, the most by any team in the competition. Of the 15 outfield players who have made 3+ UCL appearances for the Reds this term, only two have yet to score or assist a goal (Ryan Gravenberch and Joe Gomez).
Player to Watch
Mohamed Salah
While the prolific and in-demand Jonathan David and the resurgent Darwin Nunez were viable candidates for this section, we have picked Mohamed Salah as our Player to Watch. The Liverpool talisman has gone off the boil in the last few games, and Arne Slot will be eager to see the veteran attacker back at his best on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Salah has already assisted four goals for Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League this season, the joint-most by any player in 2024/25. If he provides an assist in this game, he will equal Samuel Eto’o (from 2010/11) for the most assists by an African player in a single edition of the tournament (5). However, Slot will hope for a more well-rounded showing from the Egyptian wizard.
Prediction
Liverpool 2-2 LOSC Lille
Liverpool might have cruised through the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League, but LOSC Lille will be no pushovers. The visitors have been nigh on impossible to beat for months, with their most recent defeat coming in September. However, the Reds have barely lost in their worst run of the 2024/25 season.
So, while Lille might sense an opportunity to spring another surprise after beating Real Madrid earlier this season, toppling Liverpool will be a challenge on another level. Ultimately, there might not be much to separate the two teams, and The Hard Tackle predicts a closely contested affair to end in a 2-2 draw. The result will be good enough to ensure Liverpool’s passage to the next round.