Champions League semifinal
FC Barcelona and Liverpool are set to face at Camp Nou in Barcelona in the first leg of the 2019 Champions League semifinal.
The two clubs have not faced each other since the 2006/2007 season so it will be interesting to see what Champions League betting odds are. FC Barcelona are the favorites but so was Tottenham last night against Ajax. Both coaches preview one of the best clashes of the season
Liverpool coach, Klopp, on overcoming Barcelona:
There’s home advantage for Barcelona tomorrow and we have the home advantage next Tuesday, then we will see who could use the advantage more. We know how difficult it is to play against Barcelona because of the quality they have. It’s not only about Messi but of course it’s about him as well. Can we concentrate on Messi? We should in a lot of moments. But if you do it only, there are 10 world-class players around who decide the game easily then. They have the highest quality team, they are already Spanish champions.
Now they are champions since last Saturday and now they can completely focus on the Champions League. We will face them still and I’m really looking forward to it. But it will be a tough job to do.
If we go to the final, we have three weeks to think about what we have to do, three weeks is the time until the final. It’s all good, we are here, we want to play our best football and we will see what we get for it.
You don’t want to avoid difficult games in football, you want to have them because that means you play for something – and that’s what we do. It’s not a problem. Will we be perfect tomorrow night? For sure not, that’s not possible. Will we make mistakes? Yes. Will we suffer? Yes, 100 per cent. Will there be moments when we have a chance? Oh, 100 per cent. [Will we] use them? I hope so, that’s what we try to do. We can be completely free to play that game.
FC Barcelona coach Valverde comments on facing Liverpool:
“Liverpool are a very powerful team, who play with a great level of pressure and rhythm. They’ll be a very difficult opponent to beat. Our intention is to win, but we know the value of stopping them from scoring. We have to play two good matches.
They have extraordinary forwards, the press really well and they have a lot of pace. They’re a tough side to beat. They’ve lost once in the league all season. That tells you a lot about them.”
