Liverpool vs Qarabag at Anfield will be crucial for both teams to secure qualification to the knockout stage of the UEFA Champions League.

A win for Liverpool would guarantee them a place in the last 16, and they would finish seeded between second and fourth.

For Qarabag, a win would be historic, not only for securing a win at Anfield but also to make it through to the playoff phase.

A draw would leave everything up in the air for both teams. Liverpool would finish on 16 points, and there are eight teams sitting on 13 points who could potentially overtake them for a place in the top eight.

Qarabag would be on 11 points if the spoils are shared, and this should be enough to secure qualification, but there is potential for them to drop out of the top 24 if results go against them.

Qarabag will travel 2583 miles to play at Anfield, the furthest a team has had to travel for a European game there.

Liverpool vs Qarabag will be available to watch on TNT Sports and Discovery+. Coverage will start on TNT Sports 2 at 6:30 pm, with the match kicking off at 8 pm. A highlights show will air on BBC One at 10:40 pm. 

Liverpool have had a strange set of circumstances where, before the loss to Bournemouth, they had been on a 13-match undefeated run in all competitions.

They picked up a strong win away to Marseille in gameweek seven of the Champions League. Their Premier League form has been poor, with no wins in five games. This included disappointing draws to newly promoted Leeds United and Burnley. 

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Qarabag currently sit second in the Azerbaijani Premier League. They are four points behind Sabah, who are on 40 points after 17 games. Qarabag won their last Champions League game against Eintracht Frankfurt, putting them in a great position to qualify for the playoff round.

In the Champions League this year, Qarabag have picked up three wins and a draw. The draw came against Chelsea, who needed Alejandro Garnacho off the bench to score the equaliser. One of these wins came away from home, and that was the opening game against Benfica. 

Joe Gomez has been added to the absentees list alongside Ibrahima Konate, leaving Liverpool short at centre-back. 

Andy Robertson looks set to remain at Liverpool despite recent interest from Spurs.

The visitors were given the boost of a return to the bench for Kady Borges, who picked up an injury against Chelsea in November. It may still be too early for a start, however.

Liverpool predicted lineup (4-3-3): Alisson, Frimpong, Endo, Van Dijk, Robertson, Gravenberch, Jones, Mac Allister, Wirtz, Szoboszlai, Ekitike.

Qarabag predicted lineup (4-2-3-1): Kochalski, Silva, Mustafadze, Renteria, Ceferquliyev, Jankovic, Bichalo, Zoubir, Montiel, Andrade, Duran

Arne Slot: “They've shown this season against big clubs – because there are only big clubs in the Champions League – that they are a very good team and a hard team to beat.

"Even [against] Chelsea, they were able to keep them to 2-2."


Gurban Gurbanov: "The players in this team are very good players, and we want to play very good. I believe in my players.

"Tomorrow they will show a very good game and play well. This is a very difficult game that we're entering."