Liverpool lineup vs. Real Madrid: Predicted XI for Champions League clash

Liverpool right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold will return to the matchday squad for Wednesday's Champions League league phase battle with Real Madrid at Anfield.

The England international missed Sunday's 3-2 Premier League win over Southampton with the hamstring problem he sustained before the two-week hiatus, but he was able to train fully on Thursday and will be on the bench; Arne Slot has confirmed that he will not be starting.

Slot is not expecting Alisson Becker (hamstring) or Diogo Jota (abdominal) to make the cut this week, though, while Federico Chiesa should be eased back into action gradually given his disrupted start.

The spine of Caoimhin Kelleher, Conor Bradley, Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk should remain untouched, and even though Andy Robertson endured another rough afternoon at St Mary's, Kostas Tsimikas's ankle injury means that the Scotsman will reprise his role too.

Alexis Mac Allister is also poised to return to the engine room over Curtis Jones alongside Ryan Gravenberch, who has won possession back 30 times in the 2024-25 UCL, more times than any other midfielder.

Dominik Szoboszlai's slick opener on Sunday should be enough to see the Hungarian edge out Jones in the advanced slot, but Cody Gakpo will surely make way for Luis Diaz, scorer of a phenomenal hat-trick against Bayer Leverkusen on Champions League matchday four.

Diaz played as a makeshift striker on that day, but the Colombian ought to take up left-wing duties this time around as Darwin Nunez leads the line with additional support from Mohamed Salah, who has dropped a massive contract bombshell ahead of Wednesday's game.

Liverpool possible starting lineup: Kelleher; Bradley, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Szoboszlai, Diaz; Nunez

> Click here to see how Real Madrid could line up for this match