Liverpool vs Lille Competition – Champions League Stadium: Anfield Date: 21st January 2025 Kick-off time – 20:00 GMT
After recording their first league win in 2025, Liverpool will look to record their first win in the Champions League when they welcome Lille to Anfield this Tuesday. Liverpool ended 2024 on a high note when they beat West Ham 5-0 in their last game of the year. However, they drew their opening league games of the year, lost in the Carabao Cup against Tottenham and only beat Accrington Stanley in their opening four games of the year. This return of one win in four games suggested that the Reds were in crisis. However, a 2-0 win over Brentford at the weekend brought back some positivity around the club as it kept them in command of the Premier League title race. Having extended their lead at the top of the league, they will now look to extend the respectable lead they have opened in the Champions League. Arne Slot’s side boasts a perfect record of six wins from six games in the Champions League while possessing the competition’s joint-best defensive record with just one goal conceded. That single goal came on matchday one against AC Milan in September (W 3-1), meaning they could become just the second team in European Cup/Champions League history after Leeds in 1969/70 to win six consecutive games without conceding. They head back to Anfield looking for an 11th-straight win in home Champions League group/league phase games. They should be confident here because they have won 13 of their 16 home H2Hs against French opposition (D1, L2). Meanwhile, Lille’s struggles against English sides give credence to their underdog tag. They’ve won just one of their last ten Champions League games against them (D2, L7), losing the last six in succession. That record gets no better on the road where the visitors have won just once in their nine prior away matches in England in all competitions (D1, L7). Manager Bruno Genesio won’t be paying much attention to history since he’s completely transformed his side recently as they currently boast an almighty 21-game unbeaten run dating back to September 2024 (W12, D9). That includes going undefeated in their last five Champions League games since losing to Sporting CP on matchday one (W4, D1), which has catapulted the Mastiffs into contention to finish within the top-eight.
