Comments and predictions for Liverpool vs Bayer Leverkusen: An exciting match

Xabi Alonso's much-anticipated return to Liverpool comes on Tuesday night, when his Bayer Leverkusen side travel to Anfield for a mouth-watering Champions League clash.

Liverpool have completed their first three games of the 2024-25 European competition, but the sixth-placed German side could overtake them in the 36-team standings with a win on Merseyside.

Latest Liverpool vs Bayer Leverkusen team information

Things went wrong for Liverpool in the first half of Saturday's game against Brighton, when key centre-back Ibrahima Konate was forced off at half-time with a hand injury, leaving him in so much pain he had to use his shirt as a sling.

Manager Jürgen Klopp is waiting to learn the severity of the Frenchman's injury, but Joe Gomez is certain to start from the opening whistle on Tuesday, while Alisson Becker (calf), Harvey Elliott (foot), Federico Chiesa (fitness) and Diogo Jota (abdominal injury) will be sidelined.

After overtaking Robbie Fowler into eighth place in the Premier League's all-time scoring list on Saturday, Salah could now become the first player in 21 years to score in six consecutive home Champions League games for an English club, since Ruud van Nistelrooy did it for Manchester United in 2023.

Konate was not the only French player injured in the match, as Leverkusen winger Nordi Mukiele suffered a thigh injury in the draw with Stuttgart and is not expected to feature until after the international break.

Mukiele joins Leverkusen's injury list alongside Amine Adli (broken leg) and Jeanuel Belocian (foot injury), while Martin Terrier is also out for Friday's Bundesliga clash, but Alonso is hopeful he will be back in time for the trip to Anfield.

The Terrier's return will allow Jeremie Frimpong to take Mukiele's place on the right flank, while star attacker Florian Wirtz is looking to become only the third player under the age of 21 - after Erling Haaland and Manor Solomon - to score in each of his first three away Champions League outings.

Latest expected lineup Liverpool vs Bayer Leverkusen

Liverpool:

Kelleher; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson; Mac Allister, Gravenberch; Salah, Jones, Diaz; Nunez

Bayer Leverkusen:

Hradecky; Tapsoba, Tah, Hincapie; Frimpong, Xhaka, Garcia, Grimaldo; Terrier, Wirtz; Boniface

Latest football commentary Liverpool vs Bayer Leverkusen

Just minutes after Jurgen Klopp announced his resignation in January, Liverpool fans rolled out the red carpet for former midfielder Alonso's return to Anfield, but the Leverkusen boss turned down not one, but three former clubs to stay with the unbeaten Bundesliga side.

With Liverpool, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid accepting Alonso's decision, the Anfield hierarchy put a big-money deal on the table for Arne Slot, whose start to life on Merseyside has been better than he could have imagined.

AC Milan, Bologna and RB Leipzig have all succumbed to Liverpool's might in the early stages of the 2024-25 Champions League; Darwin Nunez's only goal gave Liverpool a 1-0 win over Leipzig in October, leaving Liverpool just behind Aston Villa in the UCL standings.

Liverpool may have had their worst first half under Slot in Saturday's Premier League clash with Brighton & Hove Albion, however, but a second-half recovery saw Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah equalise after Ferdi Kadioglu's opener to secure a 2-1 win in a hard-fought game.

With Manchester City and Arsenal both losing away from home in Gameweek 10, Liverpool have taken control of the Premier League title race - opening up a two-point lead over the reigning champions in the table after a 10th win in their last 11 games under Slot.

Records are being broken under the calm guidance of the Dutchman, who has guided his side to five consecutive home wins - scoring at least twice in each - and they can now win all four opening games of a Champions League campaign for the first time since 2021-22.

Replicating the incredible achievements of the 2023-24 season was always going to be an extremely difficult challenge for Alonso's Leverkusen, as they came close to winning a stunning treble last season before falling to Ademola Lookman in the Europa League final.

However, the Bundesliga side are still on track in Europe's top flight this season, having picked up seven points from their first nine games thanks to wins over Feyenoord and AC Milan, and an unexpected draw with Brest in matchday three.

Die Werkself have become accustomed to sharing points this season, and have drawn three of their last four games going into Friday when they drew 0-0 with Stuttgart, leaving them seven points behind resurgent leaders Bayern Munich.

That lacklustre draw extended Leverkusen's unbeaten run in all competitions to 11 games, and Alonso's men are yet to suffer an away defeat this season, winning their first four away games and drawing their last three.

Tuesday's mouth-watering clash will see Liverpool and Leverkusen meet for the first time since the 2004-05 season, when Liverpool comfortably won 3-1 over both legs of their last-16 tie before going on to be crowned champions, although Alonso missed both legs with an ankle injury.

Liverpool may still be enjoying an impressive winning run under Slot, but none of their victories since the start of October have been truly convincing, and fatigue may have set in after half-time against Brighton.

So a Leverkusen side that is known as a draw specialist in 2024-25 could end the hosts' perfect start to this Champions League campaign, even if Alonso's men are no longer the unstoppable force they once were.

Latest Liverpool vs Bayer Leverkusen score prediction

Based on the above football comments, we and the world's leading football sites have given the following results for the Liverpool vs Bayer Leverkusen match:

• Sportsmole: Liverpool 2-2 Bayer Leverkusen

• WhoScore: Liverpool 2-1 Bayer Leverkusen
• Our prediction: Liverpool 1-1 Bayer Leverkusen

When and where to watch Liverpool vs Bayer Leverkusen live?

To watch the Liverpool vs Bayer Leverkusen match live in the Champions League at 3:00 a.m. on November 3, viewers can watch it on K+ Sport, K+PM or online sports channels. Wish you all have fun watching football.

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