Home / Football / Maribor vs Liverpool – Champions League Match Preview
Maribor

Maribor vs Liverpool – Champions League Match Preview

Liverpool play their second successive away fixture in the Champions League and they will hope that they fare better than the result in Spartak Moscow last month. Not only that but they are still looking for their first win of this campaign after back to back draws,

After the aberration which was Saturday lunchtime when a much hyped game with Manchester United failed to match the expectations that were set, Jurgen Klopp will look to get this European adventure back on track with a much welcomed three points.

As in the previous fixture in Moscow it is Loris Karius that will feature in goal after Simon Mignolet played against United, the rotation between the two keepers has arguably seen neither convince and it’s hard to say who you would consider the club’s number one right now.

Liverpool’s defence has been much maligned this season and although they kept a clean sheet at the weekend that was more down to the fact that Jose Mourinho was not too interested in actually scoring a goal, no matter where they go you always feel they have a goal in them and that is something that Maribor will look to exploit.

Especially when you consider that Liverpool failed to keep a clean sheet in either of the first two Champions League outings this seasons then there must be a quiet confidence in the Maribor camp that they can make life difficult for the Reds in front of their own fans.

If that is to be the case then you get the feeling that Liverpool’s attack are going to have to do more than their fare share tonight especially if they are to return to Merseyside with all three points. The fact that they have scored one Premier League goal in their last two outings will be of some concern to Jurgen Klopp.

That coupled with the injury to Sadio Mane means that Liverpool are not quite at their free flowing best at the moment as they look to rediscover the performances which saw them score a flurry of goals in the first few weeks of the season.

You get the feeling that Liverpool are now competing for second in the group after throwing away the opportunity to win against Sevilla on Matchday 1. If they can pick up something tonight in the way of a draw then if Sevilla beat Spartak Moscow then it is still a relatively decent point.

That’s because they would sit second at the halfway stage with home fixtures against Maribor and Spartak Moscow, in fairness though this is a game they should be identifying as winnable even if it does mean a trek across the continent.

Should they be able to earn a win then it will give their qualification hopes a shot in the arm and you still couldn’t rule them out topping the group if they were to then beat Sevilla on their own turf. Maribor won’t make life easy but I think Liverpool will have enough in the tank to earn all three points. An away win for me.

Leave a Reply

%d bloggers like this: