Barcelona: It is the battle between two of the biggest giants of European football - Barcelona will host Liverpool for the first leg of the Champions League semi-final on Tuesday.
Liverpool and Barcelona were two of the favourites for the tournament and now only one of them can go to the summit clash in Madrid at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium.
Barcelona last won the Champions League in 2015 and their wounds of not making it big in Europe were further deepended with their arch-rivals Real Madrid taking all the plaudits in the continent during those years.
Ahead of the 2018-19 Champions League season, Lionel Messi had expressed his desperation for a Champions League title and he has looked like a man possessed throughout.
This season Messi has been in stupendous form, dancing around his opponents and breaching defence with absolute ease - he has been like a water dancer and Liverpool have a massive task ahead of them since they want to stop him.
Liverpool on the other hand have made it to their second consecutive semi-final and would want to make it second straight final. They would love to change the story of the final, when they lost to Real Madrid last year and become the European champions.
It's been long and Liverpool will absolutely love a European trophy.
When it comes to the head-to-head between Liverpool and Barcelona, the Reds hold an edge. This will be the first meeting between the two sides since the first knockout round of the 2006-07 season, where Liverpool advanced on away goals benefit.
Liverpool are also unbeaten on their last four visits to Camp Nou, winning two and drawing two.
Also, the Reds have won their last three two-legged ties in Europe. But all that history would hardly matter if Lionel Messi decides to take matters in his own hands.
It will be an interesting battle between one of the greatest players of all time and the PFA Player of the Year Virgil van Dijk.
LIVE STREAM
Barcelona vs Liverpool will be live streamed on Sony LIV in India. The match will be televised on Sony TEN Network which is why their application will see the live stream of it. Sony LIV has now made their live sports network a paid one, so a subscription to the website is mandatory.
The match is slated for 12.30am IST start.
PREDICTIONS
Juergen Klopp has only one real injury concern to deal with and that is of Adam Lallana. Other than that, it is a happy headache for the boss as he has plenty of players in good form pushing the door.
Roberto Firmino and Fabinho had missed the weekend clash with slight injuries but Fabinho is most likely to return while Firmino was also back at training.
Liverpool predicted XI: Alisson; Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joel Matip, Virgil van Dijk, Andrew Robertson; Jordan Henderson, Fabinho, Georginio Wijnaldum; Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane
Barcelona are set to welcome fresh and rested Lionel Messi and Sergio Busquests and the club's old guard would want to run Liverpool over.
Luis Suarez will surely be leading the line against Liverpool but the toss up in the front three will be between former Red Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele.
Barcelona predicted XI: Marc-Andre Ter Stegen; Sergi Roberto, Gerard Pique, Clement Lenglet, Jordi Alba; Ivan Rakitic, Sergio Busquets, Arthur; Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Ousmane Dembele
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