Liverpool vs Qarabag Prediction & Betting Tips (28 January)

Despite the crisis this team went through this fall, Liverpool is a serious candidate for direct qualification for the 1/8 finals of this Champions League. The Mersey club occupies 4th place in this league phase with the same number of points on the clock as 3rd, Real Madrid. Although they suffered 2 defeats during this phase of the league against Galatasaray 1-0 and PSV 1-4, the Reds were still able to capitalize by winning against Atlético 3-2, Eintracht Frankfurt 1-5, Real Madrid 1-0, Inter 0-1 and finally against OM 0-3 last week. This fairly good record therefore allowed them to almost secure their place in the 1/8 finals. Otherwise, in the Premier League, Arne Slot's players defend their 4th place in the standings. After having lined up 3 consecutive draws, the residents of Anfield will want to accelerate on the Bournemouth field next weekend. For its part, Qarabag does not have to be ashamed of its record for the first participation in its history in the league phase of this Champions League.

The Azerbaijani club is in a good position to hope to play in the play-offs with its 10 points collected after the first 7 days. After starting with 2 victories against Benfica 2-3 and Copenhagen 2-0, the visitors subsequently encountered more difficulties by stringing together 3 defeats in 4 matches against Bilbao 3-1, Chelsea 2-2, Napoli 2-0 and Ajax 2-4. But last week, Qarabag found his smile again by defeating Eintracht Frankfurt and almost securing his place among the top 24. Otherwise, as champions, this team is in 2nd place in the ranking at mid-season, one length behind the leader, Sabah. She will return to competition this weekend against Kepez. 

Absent for family reasons last week, French international defender Konaté should make his return. Coach Arne Slot must otherwise deal with the absences of defenders Williams and Leoni, not registered, of the potentially starting right back Bradley and the disappointing recruit Isak (2 goals in PL, none in C1) who are injured. At the forefront, we should certainly find the international French Ekitiké (12 goals including 1 in C1) who could not find the fault against OM unlike Gakpo (5 goals in PL, 2 goals in C1) and especially Szoboszlai (4 goals and 3 assists in C1). Star rookie Wirtz (3 goals in PL) should also be a candidate for a starting place. Long-term injured, Brazilian midfielder Borges will not make the trip to Anfield, nor will the replacement goalkeeper Mahammadaliyev.

In addition to this, Amin Rzayev and Ramil Sheydayev are not on the list of players authorized to play this competition. On the other hand, the prolific Leandro Andrade, who has 6 goals and 2 assists (3 goals in qualifying - 3 goals in the league phase) in this competition, should start on his right side while the former Lensois Zoubir (4 goals, 4 assists in championship) is the captain of this team. The solid defender Bayramov (7 goals in the league) and the striker Durant, author of a double against Frankfurt last week, could also appear in the 11.