da realsbet： Liverpool face Spartak Moscow on Wednesday evening knowing that a point will guarantee them safe passage into the last 16 of the Champions League.
da fazobetai： It’s been almost a decade since the Reds made it to the knockout stages of the competition, but they were given a group they should really have been navigating with ease. Despite draws to Sevilla and even away in Moscow, Liverpool still top the group going into the final game.
A win will see them top the group, no matter what happens. A draw will be enough to progress, though perhaps not enough to finish first, depending on what Sevilla do against Maribor. And a defeat – unthinkably – could be terminal in the top competition unless Sevilla were to slip up away in Slovenia.
There’s a balance to be struck, though, and perhaps a little bit of gaming the system, too.
Liverpool could well manage to be the only English team not to top their group. But if they do, they’d be in the same boat as Manchester City and Tottenham, probably United and possibly Chelsea: they’d have to face a second-placed team. That means the likes of Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Juventus, possibly Roma or Atletico Madrid, maybe even Napoli. Coming top of the group may not be the blessing it used to be in Europe’s top tier competition.
And yet, coming second could be an unforeseen blessing for the Reds. If they do, they could see four other English sides top theirs, meaning that Jurgen Klopp’s side would be exempt from facing four of the top teams of this season’s competition. They could, of course, still face Barcelona – though they haven’t been on top form – or Paris Saint-Germain. Depending, of course, what happens in Munich.
In the Parc des Princes at the end of September, the French league leaders beat the German champions 3-0, prompting the sacking of Carlo Ancelotti and plunging Bayern into crisis. Just a few months later, they’re in a better position, but they still look vulnerable and that is reflected in the odds on 888sport. They’ll have to win 4-0 to win on head-to-head, too, as PSG will top the group on goal difference even in the event of a three-goal victory for the Germans.
But we’ve seen turnarounds like that before. PSG’s 4-0 win over Barcelona in Paris last season was overturned by the La Liga side at the Camp Nou in thrilling fashion, and if the same things happens again, we’ll be hearing quite a bit about the Ligue 1 leaders and their bottle.
That raises an interesting question for Liverpool, though. Who would you rather have in the Champions League knockout rounds if the worst-case scenario were to happen and one of Europe’s biggest clubs were drawn out of the hat? Would it be two-in-a-row champions Real Madrid, in the event of topping the group? Or a vulnerable Bayern Munich? Coming second in the group could also see the Reds draw Besiktas, and another enticing trip to Istanbul.
Liverpool should be watching the other Champions League groups with interest on Tuesday night. A draw, and second place in the group, might sound like a failure. But when it comes to the other type of draw, the one for the next round, that disappointment could start to look like the best thing that could have happened.