Liverpool

With both clubs experiencing some on-field turbulence recently, the upcoming Champions League encounter appears definitive, even at this early stage.

That is huge for both teams, and especially Liverpool, striving to be in the money again next season and eyeing European glory as the way to do so. When Real and Liverpool meet on February 21, the January window will be a distant memory. But an aggregate win over Liverpool—a sixth consecutive net victory over the opposition—would lay an ideal path to a 15th title. Advancing would lift the confidence required to go all the way. It could be a do-or-die occasion, and there’s much more to analyze. Squeezing into the Premier League top four places and snatching an unlikely trophy is the best it can achieve.