Liverpool v Barcelona Predictions & Betting Odds – 7th May 2019

Liverpool v Barcelona Betting Tips – Champions League, 7th May 8.00pm

Even though it could be argued that Liverpool were the better of the two sides at the Camp Nou in the first leg of this UEFA Champions League semi-final, it was Barcelona who walked away with a 3-0 victory. So that leaves Liverpool’s hopes in this season’s competition pretty much in tatters. They have to produce a minimum of four unanswered goals on the night to get through. Barcelona will be looking to cause even more damage on the counter-attack at Anfield. Read our predictions for Liverpool v Barcelona.

Liverpool v Barcelona Betting Odds*

Liverpool 21/20
Barcelona 9/4
Draw 11/4
* (Betting Odds were taken from bet365 on May 5th, 2019 at 4:27 p.m.)

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Liverpool News and Form

The first leg of this semi-final tie was a bitter pill to swallow for Liverpool. It was a heavy defeat on the scoreboard, but they had played so well at the Camp Nou. They even missed golden opportunities by their star players to get themselves a least one away goal on the board. As a positive though Liverpool have never lost a home game in the semi-final stage of the European Cup, winning eight of the 10 previous matches at this stage. In those 10 games, Liverpool conceded only the four home goals, two of those were in last season’s semi-final on Merseyside against Roma.

Another bright stat for Liverpool is that they have won each of their last 10 two-legged European ties which includes qualifying times, although that looks like as if it is going to get snapped. The Reds have won seven of the eight UEFA Champions League knockout stage ties in which they were playing at home in the second leg. They have won their last six such ties in a row. Liverpool have a W8 D2 in two-legged UEFA knockout ties with Spanish sides.

 

 
Liverpool seem to have always struggled at home against Spanish opposition, winning just five of their 17 previous games at Anfield against visitors from La Liga (D7 L5). The Reds were running on a five-match winning streak of home form in European competition before they played out that 0-0 draw against Bayern Munich in the round of 16. Their following home game, saw Liverpool produce a 2-0 home success over FC Porto. In fact, Liverpool are on a 21 match unbeaten streak of European home form, winning 15 of those.

27 times in their history Liverpool have lost the first leg away from home of the UEFA competition ties. They have won through in 13 of those 27 previous occasions. In two of those ties, they have suffered 3-0 away defeats in the first game and went on to be eliminated in both. Interestingly though they won both of those home games in those ties by a 2-0 scoreline. After last week in Spain, from the nine previous games against Barcelona, the head-to-head is now even at three victories each. Liverpool lost their last home game against Barcelona by a 1-0 scoreline.

 

 

Barcelona News and Form

Barcelona have heard ready wrapped up their domestic league title so that afforded them the chance to rest their star players on the weekend. That, of course, is a luxury that Liverpool didn’t have. Then Liverpool striker Luis Suarez gave Barcelona the first-half lead in the first leg. Lionel Messi then came up with two goals in the final 15 min of the fixture, his second and absolutely stunning free kick from 30 yards out. In last season’s quarter-finals and Barcelona crashed out of the competition after having earned a 3-goal margin at home in the first leg of their tie against Roma.

However, there is a big difference between that and this occasion because Roma had picked up an away goal which proved vital in the end. Liverpool failed to do that. Three of Barcelona’s eight European Cup semi-final defeats have come against English opposition. Barcelona have actually lost each of their last three away games at the semi-final stage of the UEFA Champions League. Remarkably they have only claimed two away victories (D2 L10) in their previous fourteen semi-final away games in the competition. In their previous 12 ties where Barcelona were away in the second leg, the Catalans lost eight of those.

Barcelona have claimed a win in 15 of their 25 previous two-leg European ties against English opposition. They have lost just one of their last nine. This will now be their sixth game this season against an English opponent, having met with Tottenham in the group stage and taking four points from their games against the Premier League outfit. It was then a 4-0 aggregate win that Barcelona claimed over Manchester United in the quarter-finals. Overall it is a W4 L1 record against English sides by Barcelona this season.

Barcelona have won five of their last seven road games in England (D1 L1) and they have lost only one of their last 22 games in the Champions League, home and away. That lone defeat was in the aforementioned quarter-final tie against Roma last season. Barcelona were running on a six-match winless streak of away form in Champions League knockout stage games (D2 L4) before claiming their win at Old Trafford this season. Barcelona have won 38 of the 42 UEFA competition ties in which they won the first leg at home but have lost the two most recent ones.

Liverpool v Barcelona Predictions

Liverpool to win: Liverpool are at the very least going to have a go at this right from the very off. They need to get themselves a big head of steam going early as possible and an early goal of course, would raise some belief that they can turn this tie around. However, on the evidence of the first leg, Barcelona are just going to be an even bigger threat on the counter-attack away from home. There may be plenty of goals in this, but still worth backing Liverpool to at least produce the home win even if they don’t do enough to make it to the final.