Liverpool may be fully focused on the Premier League, but they must now shift their attention to the Champions League and Bayern Munich.
European nights at Anfield are always huge occasions and this round of 16 match will be no different with an array of talent on display.
For all the big names stepping out on Merseyside tonight, the tie could ultimately be decided by either team’s star forward – Mohamed Salah and Robert Lewandowski.
Bayern’s Polish striker is currently the Champions League top scorer in 2018/19 with eight, two ahead of Barcelona’s Lionel Messi.
He scored a brace in the last three of Bayern’s Group E matches, against AEK Athens, Benfica, Ajax, as they finished unbeaten and top, to smoothly progress.
With Virgil van Dijk suspended for the first-leg and Joe Gomez sidelined, Liverpool’s depleted defence is likely to be marshalled by Joel Matip, who will have the unenviable task of keeping Lewandowski from adding to his impressive tally and scoring for the fifth successive game in Europe, a feat he has never accomplished in the tournament.
The Pole’s form in the competition this season is outstanding, especially given his eight goals have come from the same amount of shots (24) as Salah, who has just the three, abeit against tougher opposition, and less touches.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp will be fully aware of what the Bayern hit-man is capable of, given he is the one who brought Lewandowski from Polish side Lech Poznan to Borussia Dortmund in 2010.
The pair enjoyed much success in their four years together winning the League twice, three German cups and reaching the 2013 Champions League final. Unsurprisingly, Lewandowski has since credited Klopp for improving his game.
“He released that striker’s instinct in me and that allowed me to make the next step up,” Lewandowski told the official Champions League website.
“I didn’t know that I still had so much potential, more than I thought, and that means he saw something in me that I couldn’t see.”
The Bayern striker is the Champions League top scorer this season, but Klopp may be sick of the sight of his former charge by the end of the round of 16 tie given his current form in the Champions League.