Liverpool travel to Barcelona for the first time in 12 years for the opening leg of their UEFA Champions League semi-final clash on Wednesday, hoping to channel the same spirit that led them to victory in 2007.
The Reds beat the Blaugrana 2-1 at the Camp Nou in that season's round of 16 and eventually fell to AC Milan in the final. Jurgen Klopp's side finished runners-up to Real Madrid in 2018 and see their route to Champions League glory blocked by another Spanish titan.
Barcelona are yet to lose a competitive fixture at home in 2019, and manager Ernesto Valverde rested some key stars as they beat Levante 1-0 on Saturday to retain La Liga and extend their domestic dominance
Liverpool thrashed Huddersfield Town 5-0 in their last outing but trail Premier League leaders Manchester City by one point in their head-to-head battle for silverware.
Barca are sure to feel relief after wrapping up their first piece of silverware this term and look to continue their quest towards a potential European and domestic treble.
Date: Wednesday, May 1
Time: 8 p.m. BST/3 p.m. ET
Venue: Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain
Live Stream: B/R Live (U.S.), BT Sport app (UK), Univision Deportes en Vivo (U.S.), Univision Now (U.S.), fuboTV (U.S.)
TV Info: BT Sport 2 (UK), Univision (U.S.), Univision Deportes (U.S.)
Odds
Barcelona: 10-11
Draw: 14-5
Liverpool: 3-1
Many would expect Barcelona to be favourites at home to just about any team based on current form, though it may be more of a surprise to see Liverpool priced as high as 3-1 with some bookmakers.
The two will clash at the Camp Nou in the first leg and are fighting for the right to face one of Tottenham Hotspur or Ajax in the final, with that pair scheduled to clash in north London on Tuesday (U.S. only)
Liverpool can take confidence from their record to date playing Barcelona on their own turf—the Reds have travelled to the Camp Nou on four occasions and collected two wins and two draws.
Klopp has defensive leaders in the likes of Andrew Robertson, Trent Alexander-Arnold and star centre-back Virgil van Dijk, who was recently named Professional Footballers' Association Player of the Year:
The Netherlands international must be at his best if he's to contain Barca, who ripped Manchester United apart in their quarter-final second leg and waltzed away 3-0 victors at home.
Messi, 31, was left out of Valverde's XI for Saturday's visit of Levante but came off the bench to score the only goal and secure Barca's second straight league crown, via Eleven Sports (UK only).
Sergio Busquets, Samuel Umtiti and Sergi Roberto were also among the first-team contenders left on the bench at the start of that game. While a display of strength on their behalf, Liverpool will have taken note of the reliance on Messi to again come to their rescue.
Sports writer James Nalton pointed to the Argentinian as the sole survivor of their last clash more than a decade ago:
Messi has 10 Champions League goals to his name this season and leads the competition's scoring charts by two. However, he's failed to score in both career appearances against Liverpool thus far and hopes to change that record on Wednesday (U.S. only),
Roberto Firmino has returned to training for Liverpool and could be back from injury to hand the travelling outfit a boost, per the Mirror's David Maddock.
The English powerhouse has made huge strides to regain such strong footing on the Champions League stage, but even Klopp's challengers to the throne will be underdogs when they visit Barcelona.
