GOOD NEWS to Liverpool as Real Madrid travel to Liverpool(Anfield) WITHOUT  two of their three first-choice midfielders for Champions League

GOOD NEWS As Real Madrid travel to Liverpool(Anfield) WITHOUT  two of their three first-choice midfielders for Champions League

Toni Kroos and Aurelien Tchouameni are not called up to Real Madrid’s Champions League squad for Tuesday’s game against Liverpool, but star striker Karim Benzema will be back after his absence at the weekend.

The Champions League winners travel to Anfield to take on last year’s runners-up with a jaded midfield without two of Carlo Ancelotti’s top stars in the engine room.

Experienced veteran Luka Modric leads the midfield alongside Ernesto Valverde, Eduardo Camavinga, Mario Martin, Sergio Arribas and Dani Ceballos.

Valverde, who has often acted further for Ancelotti this season and scored in Real Madrid’s 2-0 away win over Osasuna on Saturday, could be used in a deeper role against Jurgen Klopp’s side in midfield. week.

Toni Kroos still bad ahead of Champions League duel

Kroos is still unwell after missing Wednesday’s clash with Elche at the Bernabeu through illness and Tchouameni is yet to recover from the flu.

According to Relevo, the German international suffered from an intestinal infection which severely affected his weight and muscle mass. Meanwhile, Benzema has been a regular feature of Ancelotti’s squad of late, still feeling the effects of the hamstring injury he picked up on the eve of last year’s World Cup, most recently coming off in Real Madrid’s 4-0 win over Elche dropped Wednesday.

The Frenchman was completely left out of Ancelotti’s squad against Osasuna, threatening his availability ahead of the Champions League spectacle.

Los Blancos fans will be delighted to hear of his inclusion in the squad, given the striker’s rampant form during the knockout stages of the tournament last season.

Benzema scored 10 goals in seven knockout games for Madrid last season as the Spanish giants clinched their 14th Champions League crown by beating Liverpool in the final.

Liverpool built momentum ahead of the crucial clash, beating high-flyer Newcastle at St. Liverpool share a lot of history with Real Madrid in the Champions League, even before their heartbreaking 1-0 defeat in last year’s final.

The Reds were knocked out of the 2021/22 competition by Madrid in the quarter-finals, suffering a 3-1 aggregate defeat.

Four years earlier, the Spanish side had beaten Liverpool 3-1 in the Champions League final thanks to an excellent second half from Gareth Bale off the bench.

In total, Real Madrid have won five of their nine meetings, drawing one and losing three.

Despite finishing second in the group behind leaders Napoli, Liverpool finished two points clear of Real Madrid during the group stage of the competition. Ancelotti’s side led Group F by 13 points over second-placed Red Bull Leipzig, winning four of their six games.