Liverpool vs Lille Prediction 21 January 2025

🔊 Will Liverpool secure their seventh consecutive victory in the Champions League? At least the bookmakers' prediction makes them the favorite in the upcoming match at Anfield. Despite Lille not being a high-profile opponent, they have already taken points from the tournament's favorites. Therefore, we will explore different options to find the optimal one.

📊 Head-to-Head

The opponents met in the Round of 16 of the Europa League in the 2009/10 season. Lille won with a minimal score at home (1:0), but conceded three unanswered goals away. Eden Hazard, Steven Gerrard, and Fernando Torres were the goal scorers.

🔴 Liverpool

Liverpool has been dropping points lately, but it can't be called a full-fledged slump. For example, they couldn't beat Nottingham Forest (1:1). However, in the first round, Arne Slot's team actually lost to them at Anfield. Last weekend's match against Brentford was heading for a draw, but the Merseysiders showed determination and scored twice in injury time (2:0). Admittedly, more energy was expended before the Champions League than desired. Nevertheless, Liverpool has already secured victories in Europe's main club tournament in an economical mode. For instance, they defeated Girona away by scoring the only goal from a penalty. The team is at the top of the table but is far from leading in terms of goals scored. However, they have conceded only once, just like Inter. Liverpool is going through the season without a large number of injuries. Currently, only Joe Gomez is unavailable, and Diogo Jota's participation is in question.

🔵 Lille

Lille, along with Brest, is the most successful team from Ligue 1 at this stage of the Champions League, having 13 points, more than Monaco and PSG. They started the tournament with a loss to Sporting (0:2), which remains their only defeat. Meanwhile, their opponents included Real Madrid (1:0), Atletico (3:1), and Juventus (1:1). Only in the last two rounds were the opponents less high-profile. Lille scored 10 goals, four of which were by Jonathan David, once again sparking interest from big clubs in the Canadian. The team is also successfully handling Ligue 1, where they are third in the standings. However, their gap from PSG is already critical (14 points). Notably, after losing to Sporting in the first round of the Champions League, "Les Dogues" haven't lost in any competition. Their streak grew to 21 matches after defeating Nice (2:1) last weekend. Lille has six injured players, with Edon Zhegrova's absence for a month being the most significant loss.

⚽️ Goal Prediction

Liverpool scored 13 goals in six Champions League matches. But since they almost don't concede, their games are quite low-scoring. On the other hand, in six consecutive matches involving Lille, more than three goals weren't scored. Therefore, we suggest betting on total goals under 3.5.

🚩 Corner Prediction

In the Champions League, Liverpool has an advantage in corners - 5.7 against 3.7. However, matches involving them average only 9.5 corners. Lille's similar figure is even lower (7.2). Therefore, a bet on total corners under 10.5 seems justified.

📝 Match Prediction

Liverpool is the favorite for the upcoming match. However, a victory is needed only for statistics and has no tournament significance. Lille perceives such matches as a challenge. Therefore, if they lose, it is unlikely to be by a large margin, for example, 0:1.

In any case, Lille will be well-prepared for Liverpool. Just recall their game against Real Madrid when they defended well and waited for their chance. Moreover, a 21-match unbeaten streak commands respect. The visitors can count on Liverpool's lack of key players and insufficient motivation. Therefore, as a key bet, we suggest Lille to win with a (+2) handicap.