Rangers are rooted firmly to the foot of Group A in the Champions League and the Gers need a miracle of epic proportions to turn their fortunes around on the continent. Liverpool eased to a comfortable 2-0 win over the Glasgow giants at Anfield last week and the Reds are favourite to pile on the misery for Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side again this evening
Below, we’ve put together a stats pack for this evening’s game which is laden with key info on goals, cards, corners, shots, assists and more. Hopefully, our research will help you to beat the bookies in the bet builder markets later today.
I’ve also written up a pretty useful Stats Pack Guide if you’re unsure on how to use it.
Predicted Lineups
Kemar Roofe, Ianis Hagi, Filip Helander, Jon McLaughlin, John Souttar and Tom Lawrence are all sidelined for Rangers this evening.
Defender James Sands is available again having served his suspension, while Antonio-Mirko Colak will hope to start following his well-taken brace against St. Mirren at the weekend.
The injury problems are starting to mount up for Jurgen Klopp and the German Head Coach will be without Curtis Jones, Andrew Robertson, Luis Diaz, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joel Matip and Naby Keita in Glasgow this evening.
Darwin Nunez is expected to keep his place up front following his goal-scoring performance against Arsenal, while Thiago and Fabinho could be paired in midfield.
Team Stats
Rangers’ underlying numbers from their campaign in Scotland make for impressive reading and they boosted their stats further on Saturday when they dismantled St. Mirren 4-0. Their domestic efforts have little bearing on this evening, however.
In the Champions League, the Gers’ displays have been well below the required standard. They’ve been hitting just 6.7 shots per game on average, while conceding a whopping 21.7 attempts per fixture at the other end.
Liverpool dropped points for the sixth time in eight Premier League matches when they lost at Arsenal on Sunday, though their stats for the season in England remain relatively strong.
The Reds have been racking up 17.62 shots and 6.12 shots on target per 90, while their xG (2.46) and corner count (7.25 p/90) have also been high. In the Champions League, Liverpool have been averaging 20.7 shots per contest.
Player Shots and Shots on Target
Antonio-Mirko Colak (4.22), Malik Tillman (2.54), Scott Arfield (2.40) and even full-back James Tavernier (1.89) have all been performing well in the shots per 90 stakes in Scotland, though Rangers’ players have found it tough to make a similar impact in the Champions League.
The Gers mustered just six attempts at Anfield last week, with Tavernier, Ryan Kent and subs Rabbi Matondo and Fashion Saka (2) managing to fire off shots on Merseyside. Remarkably, just one member of Rangers’ starting front five registered a shot last week.
Roberto Firmino and Darwin Nunez rank highest at Liverpool for shots on target p/90 this term in the Premier League, though they have started just five and three fixtures in the division respectively.
Mohamed Salah (0.90 SOT p/90) has been unusually off the boil domestically, though he has been notching a much healthier 3.7 shots per 90 in the Champions League. The Egyptian had five attempts against Rangers last week, while Darwin Nunez had six.
Player Goals and Assists
Antonio-Mirko Colak reached double figures for the campaign with his goals against St. Mirren at the weekend, while James Tavernier collected his seventh goal contribution of the campaign in the same game from the spot.
In the Champions League, the Gers have yet to break their duck, however, and they have only mustered 20 attempts in total across three group games so far.
Roberto Firmino scored his sixth Premier League goal of the campaign against Arsenal on Sunday, while Darwin Nunez hit his second in the same contest.
In the Champions League, Mohamed Salah is Liverpool’s leading marksman with two goals, though it’s interesting to note that all their other scorers in the competition so far, Joel Matip, Luis Diaz and Trent Alexander-Arnold, are injured and absent this evening.
Rangers Cards
Rangers committed just six fouls at Anfield last week and Giovanni van Bronckhorst will want to see more aggression from his troops this evening.
Centre-half Connor Goldson (four Premiership cards) is one to watch as is John Lundstrum in midfield. Lunstrum was the only Rangers player carded at Anfield and he is just one more booking away from a Champions League suspension.
James Tavernier has three bookings in all competitions this season and he should have another busy evening in Glasgow against the Reds.
Thiago makes Liverpool tick in the middle of the park and the Spaniard can often be a magnet for fouls as a result. John Lundstram will be trying to unsettle Thiago’s rhythm at Ibrox Stadium.
Diogo Jota (fouled 3.33 times p/90) is expected to shuffle left to fill the void left by the injured Luis Diaz and that should put the Portuguese attacker in direct opposition to James Tavernier. There is major card potential there.
Darwin Nunez was a real handful at Anfield last week and his physicality should draw some interesting challenges from card machine Connor Goldson this evening.
Match-Ups to watch
John Lundstram vs Thiago
James Tavernier vs Diogo Jota
Connor Goldson vs Darwin Nunez
Liverpool Cards
Trent Alexander Arnold has picked up more cards (2) in the Premier League than any of his Liverpool teammates this season, though the injured right-back’s replacement, Joe Gomez, could be worth keeping an eye on later on.
Anchorman Fabinho gets through a lot of work in midfield, though he is fond of a tactical foul or two (1.77 fouls per 90). Further forward Darwin Nunez likes to unsettle centre-halves and the Uruguayan committed two fouls against Rangers at Anfield last week. The fiery forward is worth tracking in the red-hot Ibrox atmosphere.
Attacking midfielder Glen Kamara has been drawing numerous fouls (4.00 p/90) in Scotland this season and the 26-year-old will hope to make life awkward for Fabinho when Rangers counter.
Ryan Kent was a bright spark for Rangers at Anfield last week. The winger has been fouled 2.3 times per game in the Champions League this term and he will be determined to test stand-in right-back, Joe Gomez.
We’ve already picked out Connor Goldson as a card market candidate against Darwin Nunez, though that battle has similar potential in reverse. Goldson tends to draw his share of fouls (1.44 p/90 in Scotland) and Nunez is combative enough to leave his mark on the centre-back.
Match-Ups to watch
Fabinho vs Glen Kamara
Joe Gomez vs Ryan Kent
Darwin Nunez vs Connor Goldson
