da betobet： Liverpool haven’t had much to shout about this season so far. Jurgen Klopp’s men were knocked out of both domestic cups before the quarter-final stage and their Premier League title challenge all but fizzled out before Christmas following an uncharacteristic woeful run of form.
da betsul： The Champions League is their only shot left at some silverware this term and with Real Madrid travelling to Anfield for this evening’s last 16 first-leg tie, Klopp will be hoping a victory could boost their chances of winning a seventh European crown.
With the enormity of the challenge requiring Klopp to field his most effective starting XI, there could be some changes from the victory over Newcastle United and the German must boldly drop recent sensation Stefan Bajcteic to the bench.
Will Stefan Bajcetic start against Real Madrid?
The 18-year-old has arguably been Liverpool’s brightest spark over the previous few weeks, reviving a stagnating midfield with his fearless approach and he could well play a prominent role in the side’s midfield for years to come.
Indeed, speaking of the Spanish prodigy, Mo Salah reserved fine praise, saying: “Since he started playing for us, he has been our best player.”
However, despite the Anfield side recording a much-needed win at the weekend, the Spaniard had an off day, receiving a rating of just 6.4/10 via Sofascore for his 59-minute performance, which was the lowest rating of any Liverpool player in the starting XI.
In what was a ‘quiet’ outing – as described by Liverpool World’s Jamie Kemble – he managed only 28 touches while completing just 18 passes and failing to provide any sort of threat. Beyond a delightful turn to set up an attack for Liverpool’s second, he ultimately registered zero successful dribbles, and had one shot, which was blocked.
Of course, this performance shouldn’t take away from how good he has been recently, but some fresh legs against Madrid might be of an advantage to Klopp. The La Liga side haven’t sparkled this season either, but the 6 foot 1 star may well be out of his depth against such illustrious opposition.
The 55-year-old clearly rates Bajcetic highly, going as far as to describe him as “exceptional” recently but with his form in the group stages of this year’s competition anything to go by, he still has a long way to go before succeeding at the elite level.
Across three matches, he averaged 11 minutes per game while taking just 6.7 touches, losing possession 1.3 times, and winning only 25% of his total duels per match.
Real Madrid might just be too big a step up at this moment in time for the Liverpool gem. That is no shame whatsoever, but Klopp will surely have this in mind when choosing his starting XI before tonight’s vital clash.