Barcelona vs Liverpool Predictions

After securing the Spanish title at the weekend, things could get even better for Barcelona on Wednesday night. They are pushing for a treble over the course of the next month, with the Copa del Rey and Champions League to fight for. However, Liverpool are gunning for Premier League glory along with their ambitions in Europe. They’re aiming to go one better than last season’s final defeat in Ukraine. After Tuesday’s meeting of the two surprise semi-finalists, the Champions League delivers a meeting between the two most consistent sides in Europe this term.

Barcelona have wrapped up their league title with three games to spare, while they even got to rest Lionel Messi for the first half on Saturday. Everything is going into this huge two-legged struggle with Liverpool, as Barca look to land European silverware for the first time in four years. After Real Madrid took centre-stage in Europe, the Catalans are now aiming to take back the biggest trophy in club football while exercising their domestic dominance.

Liverpool had the luxury of rotating against Huddersfield on Friday night, as they cruised to a 5-0 win over the league’s bottom side. They’ve managed to slip into the last four with some understated successes over Bayern Munich and Porto, after coming through the competition’s group of death. However, their success can’t be underestimated. We could see the Reds make back to back Champions League semi-finals, while they’re expected to finish the league campaign with only one defeat.

This is truly a heavyweight clash in Europe, the kind of game we expect at this point in the competition. Both sides come into this game with brilliant form behind them, but who has the edge? History does suggest that Barca are primed for a victory in this one. The Catalans have won more Champions League games against English sides (27) than any side has won against clubs from a particular nation in the competition’s history. On top of that, they have a magnificent record at home to back them up.

The Spanish champions are unbeaten in 31 home games in the Champions League, while they’ve won 24 of the last 26. Their only slip ups in that time were draws in a dead rubber with Tottenham and a hard-fought 0-0 with Juventus. Meanwhile, Liverpool’s away record in Europe leaves a lot to be desired. They may have won their last two, but that came after a five-game losing streak. They lost every group stage away game, so Barca should be confident of getting a win from this one. We think the hosts are brilliantly priced to come out of the first leg ahead. We’re backing a home win, while we think there’s also value in Barca and both teams to score, given the Reds’ attacking ability.

Barcelona’s Lionel Messi has scored 24 goals in just 32 Champions League matches against English opposition, however, the Argentine has failed to net in his two previous such appearances versus Liverpool. Messi leads the way in terms of goals and assists (13) in the Champions League this term. His 10-goal haul has him on course for the golden boot. Having scored against the rest of the Premier League’s top six, the Argentine should be able to complete the set on Wednesday. He has 13 goals in his last 11 games in all competitions, so the forward is brilliantly priced to follow up a run of nine goals in six home Champions League starts.