For the first time since Arne Slot’s arrival, Liverpool have looked fallible in recent weeks. They drew with a struggling Manchester United side at Anfield and stumbled against Spurs in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final. Slot’s team drew at Nottingham Forest and, on the weekend, 90 goalless minutes had passed at Brentford with a feeling that the imperious phase was finally at an end.
Liverpool then struck twice in stoppage time and, with Arsenal blowing a two-goal lead at home to Aston Villa, it feels as though the Premier League trophy is heading to Anfield despite this minor blip. Advertisement Attention now returns to the Champions League where, in Europe as at home, Liverpool are sitting pretty at the top of the table. Indeed, the Reds can set a new club record for most minutes without conceding a goal in Europe if they go the first 36 minutes against Lille without conceding.
Even more encouragingly, the club’s record against French opposition at Anfield is ominous, having won 13, drawn one and lost two. Lille currently sit third in Ligue 1, an insurmountable 14 points behind Paris Saint-Germain at the top of the table. This is not to mention the fact that the hosts are the only team in the competition to have won every game so far.
The visitors are eighth in the Champions League table having won four of their six matches thus far but the trip to Anfield represents a huge test. They have, however, beaten both Madrid sides as well as Juventus and have a s.