Liverpool and Spartak Moscow play for all the marbles on Wednesday at Anfield Road, the result of this match will decide which of the two teams qualifies from UEFA Champions League Group E. The reverse fixture ended 1-1 in September, with both goals scored in the first half of the match. Before that game, Liverpool had won both previous encounters with Spartak: 5-0 at Anfield Road and 3-1 in Moscow back in 2002, also in the Champions League group stage.
Liverpool would qualify with a draw but a defeat would most likely drop them to third place in Group E. The Reds are currently at the top of the group table with 9 points, but Sevilla are just one point behind and Spartak are third on 6 points. Sevilla play at last-placed Maribor on Wednesday and they will probably collect all three points, so Liverpool have to win if they want to remain at the top of the table. Last weekend they secured an impressive 5-1 Premier League win at Brighton, their second in a row and also their eighth match without defeat in all competitions. Joel Matip is out until the end of the year, but Adam Lallana is back and will probably play at least a few minutes.
Spartak Moscow can qualify with a win at Anfield Road, that is their only option. Last time out they were held to a 1-1 draw in Moscow by group minnows Maribor, and that result weighs heavily before the final match of the group stage. Spartak have recorded impressive results so far, like the 5-1 victory at home over Sevilla, but their two draws against Maribor could prove very costly. Georgi Tigiev, Jano Ananidze, Dmitri Kombarov and Artem Timofeev are all injured and will miss out.
Probable line-ups:
Liverpool: Karius - Gomez, Klavan, Lovren, Moreno - Can, Milner, Coutinho - Oxlade-Chamberlain, Sturridge, Mane
Spartak: Selikhov - Eshchenko, Tasci, Kutepov, Jikia - Fernando, Glushakov - Samedov, Popov, Promes - Adriano
My prediction: Liverpool to win 3-1.
Here are the odds for the match at Bet365:
Liverpool win - 1.22
Draw - 8.00
Spartak win - 12.00
12/11/17, 02:12:48 PM
