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The second leg of the crunch Champions League semifinal clash between Barcelona and Liverpool takes place later tonight at Anfield.
The Catalans head into the fixture as firm favorites to progress to the final having posted a convincing 3-0 first leg victory, with goals by Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi putting them in firm control.
Barcelona are chasing an unprecedented third treble and having already wrapped up La Liga and progressed to the Copa del Rey final, would be looking at adding the long sought after Champions League trophy to claim their place of pride in history.
However, despite having the cards stacked against them, it is pertinent to note that Liverpool are more than capable of harming Barcelona and as such the Spanish giants would do well to be wary of their English counterparts.
In this piece, we shall be highlighting three reasons why Liverpool are capable of eliminating Barcelona from the Champions League.
#3 The magic of Anfield
Liverpool are traditionally one of the biggest clubs in England, and despite the fact that younger fans are more used to mocking the Merseysiders for their lack of silverware, the bottomline is that The Reds were once unarguably the most dominant club in the world.
However, for all of their near misses and heartbreaks in recent seasons, one thing that cannot be taken away from fans of the club is the passion and dedication with which they follow their football team.
Fewer things in football give as much thrill as hearing Liverpool fans belt out a rendition of you'll never walk alone at the start of a home match or when they want to rally their team to victory and numerous fans and players alike have described the atmosphere at Anfield as surreal.
The five-time European champions have pulled off more than their own fair share of unbelievable comebacks in the past with the most memorable of all being when they came back from a 3-0 first half deficit to equalize and triumph in the 2005 Champions League final against a much stronger AC Milan team.
In similar circumstances to May 2005, Liverpool finds themselves 3-0 down to a superior team and just like that cold night in Istanbul, they need their fans to rally behind them to complete this remontada.
Fans play an important role in the outcome of matches and the importance of home support can never be undermined and with Liverpool having their backs to the wall, they need to dig deep within themselves to pull off this improbable comeback but if there is one place that this can happen, it would be at Anfield.
#2 The Champions League might be their only shot at glory this season
Liverpool have had a spectacular season till this point. They have lost just one match all season long in the EPL, while they already boast of 94 points in the league.
This points total would have been enough to win the league in all but three of the 26 Premier League seasons till date, while if they win their last match as expected against Wolves, they would remarkably have garnered 97 points which would have been enough to win the title in every other season but last season.
However, this might not be enough this season, as the juggernaut called Manchester City have matches Liverpool all the way and added some extra, with the Cityzens currently posting a one-point advantage over the Merseysiders such that if they win their last match against Brighton, they would ensure Jurgen Klopp's men's wait for league glory extends for another year to make it 30 in total.
With City expected to win against Brighton, Liverpool's last hope for a trophy this season remains the Champions League (no matter how improbable that seems).
Given the unbelievable season Liverpool have had, it is somewhat preposterous that they might end the season trophyless and to avoid that, they would fight tooth and nail to make sure that this does not happen.
#1 Complacency could set in for Barcelona
With domestic supremacy all but guaranteed and posing a 3-0 first leg advantage in their Champions League semi-final clash, there is a very high tendency that Barcelona could head to Anfield with a feeling of supremacy.
The Catalan's first leg advantage firmly installs them as favorites to progress, but Liverpool's status as underdogs could well play to their advantage, as Barcelona could underrate their threat, with the result being that complacency could set into their game.
There have been numerous instances in the past of when a superior team held a distinct first leg advantage and saw the second leg as all but a formality, but this proved not to be the case, with Barcelona's infamous capitulation against AS Roma last season despite winning the first leg 4-1 serving as the best example of this, while continental giants like Real Madrid and Juventus were also felled by Ajax despite being ruled out ahead of the return legs.
Barcelona would do well to avoid having a false air of security, as history has shown us that football is indeed a game where anything can happen.
