Overview
- Kickoff is at 21:00 at Anfield with Romanian referee István Kovács assigned to the match.
- Real Madrid arrive top of La Liga with 30 points from 33 and three wins from three in the Champions League group stage.
- The visitors travel without Mastantuono, David Alaba, Antonio Rüdiger and Dani Carvajal, with Spanish outlets publishing probable lineups reflecting those absences.
- Liverpool’s €482.9 million summer outlay has yet to translate into consistent results, with Jeremie Frimpong ruled out, Giovanni Leoni sidelined long term, Alexander Isak a doubt and recent bench roles for Florian Wirtz and Milos Kerkez.
- Alonso played down the emotion of his Anfield return, reaffirmed Kylian Mbappé as the designated penalty taker after the weekend incident and kept the final training session at Valdebebas to limit tactical clues.