Team News (via Sky Sports)
Liverpool: The Reds could be without Fabinho once again as they seek a boost in the Champions League.
Fabinho missed the defeat to Leicester and was not pictured in training with the rest of the squad on Monday.
Manager Jurgen Klopp has confirmed Naby Keita has returned to training having been sidelined since before Christmas, but the Guinean midfielder will not be ready for the trip to Budapest.
RB Leipzig: Julian Nagelsmann's side will be without Emil Forsberg, Konrad Laimer and Dominik Szoboszlai for the last-16 first-leg tie.
Stats to know (via Opta)
- This is the first competitive encounter between RB Leipzig and Liverpool. However, this is Leipzig's third English opponent in the UEFA Champions League since the start of 2020.
- Liverpool are unbeaten in their last five away games against German sides, in all competitions (W3 D2). Their last defeat was in April 2002.
- RB Leipzig's only previous UEFA Champions League knockout appearance was last season when they reached the semi-finals.
- RB Leipzig are unbeaten in their last six home matches in the UEFA Champions League (W5 D1).
- RB Leipzig have only kept two clean sheets in their 10 home games in the UEFA Champions League.
Predicted line-up
LFC XI: Alisson, Robertson, Henderson, Kabak, Alexander-Arnold, Wijnaldum, Jones, Thiago, Mane, Salah, Firmino
Score Predictions
Divij K, Tribuna.com: RB Leipzig 1-2 Liverpool
Though the Reds are still missing a number of players, the players will be fired up to get the win. A change of competition and pace is likely to help Liverpool let go of some of the pressure and really play their best football. A clean-sheet is unlikely but Jurgen Klopp's men should be able to get their first win in 4 games in Budapest.
Quotes from the Managers
Jurgen Klopp: "Julian is an extraordinary talent. He’s still young as a coach and he’s already proven virtually everything that you can prove as a manager. He’s talented and he seems young and fresh. But he’s still also very experienced and serious.
"And he’s got a really varied profile in terms of his teams and the way they play – there’s a lot of variety, a lot of flexibility, he’s always got different ideas, different ways of reacting. He’s got an absolute eye for players, where to play them, how to deal with the players."
Julian Nagelsmann: "Due to many injuries, Liverpool have made some changes. Midfielders now play in defence in a position that they are not used to.
"In addition, they have played a lot of games and Jurgen Klopp is also very demanding and emotional that the opponents against Liverpool are always 110 percent. You don't just put it all away.
"If the many chances you create are not used in the same number as last year, you can quickly lose a few points. They are not in a mega-crisis and will certainly be stable against us."
