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ANFIELD, LIVERPOOL — Liverpool host Real Madrid in the league phase of the UEFA Champions League for a second consecutive season at Anfield on Wednesday.

Arne Slot’s men were 2-0 winners last November, with Alexis Mac Allister and Cody Gakpo getting the goals in the second half.

That was the sort of efficient victory that typified Liverpool’s march to the Premier League title last term. Things have been different this time around, but Slot will hope Saturday’s victory over Aston Villa by the same scoreline provides a platform to build upon.

Madrid backed up their Clasico victory over Barcelona with a 3-1 win against Valencia at the weekend. Former Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso has Los Blancos five points clear at the top of La Liga.

The Reds began this season’s Champions League campaign with a dramatic 3-2 triumph over Atletico Madrid and bounced back from defeat at Galatasaray by hammering Eintracht Frankfurt 5-1. Madrid have won three out of three.

Liverpool vs. Real Madrid live score

Venue: Anfield, Liverpool
Referee: Istvan Kovacs (Romania)

Starting lineups:

Liverpool (4-2-3-1, right to left): 25. Giorgi Mamardashvili (GK) — 12. Conor Bradley, 5. Ibrahima Konate, 4. Virgil van Dijk, 26. Andy Robertson — 38. Ryan Gravenberch, 10. Alexis Mac Allister — 11. Mohamed Salah, 8. Dominik Szoboszlai, 7. Florian Wirtz — 22. Hugo Ekitike

Real Madrid (4-2-3-1 right to left): 1. Thibaut Courtois — 8. Federico Valverde, 24. Dean Huijsen, 3. Eder Militao, 18. Alvaro Carreras — 14. Aurelien Tchouameni, 6. Eduardo Camavinga — 15. Arda Guler, 5. Jude Bellingham, 7. Vinicius Junior — 10. Kylian Mbappe

UCL HQ: Live Champions League scores | Latest UCL news | Updated Golden Boot rankings

Liverpool vs. Real Madrid live updates, highlights, and commentary

40 mins before kickoff: Liverpool squad are out going through their warmups, with the Anfield rain still teeming down. Given Salah’s obvious and often lethal preference to cut inside, it’s a talent-stacked line-up that could come to look quite narrow with Wirtz on the other side of the attack, Considering Madrid’s threat from wide areas and in transition, this is certainly something to keep an eye on.

1 hr 10 mins before kickoff: And the hosts – the rumours were true. Florian Wirtz starts on the left wing, completing the front three alongside Mohamed Salah and Hugo Ekitike. That might be the best bet for the £116m man as things stand. The title-winning midfield combination of Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai will get to do their thing in the centre of the park. 

The Reds to take on Real Madrid 👊🔴 #UCL

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) November 4, 2025

1 hr 15 mins before kickoff: The teams are in. First the visitors – as expected, Trent Alexander-Arnold is on the bench for his Anfield return. Federico Valverde starts at right-back in Dani Carvajal’s absence.

📋✅ Our starting XI!
🆚 @LFC pic.twitter.com/Z8ouN9Il68

— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) November 4, 2025

1 hr 25 mins before kickoff: There are some rumours whipping around the Anfield press room about an “interesting” starting selection for the hosts on the left wing. All shall be revealed soon…

1 hr 40 mins before kickoff: They might have won the European Cup 15 times, but can Real Madrid do it on a wet and windy night in northwest England? The weather on Merseyside is authentically filthy. Slide tackle weather too, if the wokerati haven’t taken those from us.

Anfield awaits… 🎬✨ pic.twitter.com/NmKSav16sg

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) November 4, 2025

2 hours before kickoff. Hello and welcome to The Sporting News’ live coverage of Real Madrid vs. Liverpool from Anfield. Alongside the small matter of a heavyweight Champions League clash, we might also be kicking off the UK’s pantomime season a little early tonight. There’s probably going to be a lot of booing…

MORE: What’s going on with Vinicius and Xabi Alonso?

Liverpool vs. Real Madrid kick off time

The Liverpool vs. Real Madrid match kicks off in Liverpool at 8 p.m. local time.

Here’s how that time translates across some of the major territories:

Liverpool vs. Real Madrid lineups, team news

Slot’s team selection against Aston Villa went back to basics insofar as it looked quite a lot like the team and setup that won the Premier League last season.

Andy Robertson was preferred to Milos Kerkez at left-back to bring a little extra defensive solidity, while Dominik Szoboszlai was stationed in front of Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch in midfield.

It was surprising to see Slot make only one substitution during Saturday’s match, with Florian Wirtz replacing Hugo Ekitike in the 77th minute. Wirtz comes in as the only change and will nominally start on the left flank, with Cody Gakpo making way.

Liverpool predicted starting XI (4-2-3-1, right to left): Mamardashvili (GK) — Bradley, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson — Gravenberch, Mac Allister — Salah, Szoboszlai, Gakpo — Ekitike

Liverpool subs: Woodman (GK), Kerkez, Gomez, Endo, Misciur, Chiesa, Jones, Gakpo, Ngumoha.

Xabi Alonso’s biggest issues remain in defence with centre-backs Antonio Rudiger and David Alaba still sidelined while club captain Dani Carvajal now faces an extended period out of action due to a knee problem.

Trent Alexander-Arnold has been an unused substitute for the past two La Liga matches and he remains among the replacements on his Anfield return.

Federico Valverde is starts at right-back once again, leaving a combination of Aurelien Tchouameni, Eduardo Camavinga and Jude Bellingham to tackle midfield duties.

Real Madrid predicted starting XI (4-2-3-1 right to left): Courtois — Valverde, Huijsen, Militao, Carreras — Tchouameni, Camavinga — Guler, Bellingham, Vinicius — Mbappe

Real Madrid subs: Lunin (GK), Fran Gonzalez (GK), Rodrygo, Endrick, Gonzalo, Alexander-Arnold, Asencio, Ceballos, Fran Garcia, Brahim, Mendy.

Liverpool vs. Real Madrid live stream, TV channel

Here is how to watch the match in some of the world’s major regions: