Just two points separate the top three teams in Champions League Group D heading into matchday five, when Liverpool welcome fellow European royals Ajax to Anfield.
A shock home defeat to Atalanta BC on matchday four saw Liverpool miss the chance to book their place in the last 16 and blow Group D wide open in the process, but Jurgen Klopp’s side still only need one more win from their final two games to progress.
Liverpool must quickly switch their focus back to on-field matters on Tuesday as their relentless and much-maligned schedule sees four-time kings of Europe Ajax visit Merseyside.
Klopp’s remarkable post-match interview following Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion understandably stole the headlines as the Liverpool manager’s frustration at the timing of his side’s match – the early Saturday kickoff, having been in Champions League action on Wednesday night too – boiled over.
In all likelihood, the fact that his side once again found themselves on the wrong end of contentious VAR decisions in that match would have only added to those frustrations, with the Reds seeing two goals retrospectively disallowed before Brighton were awarded a stoppage-time penalty which even the man who won it admitted was “soft”.
The Seagulls had earlier missed another penalty and a glorious chance, though, so the result itself was harder to argue against than the manner in which it eventually occurred.
Liverpool have now only won one of their last four games in all competitions, following a run of five successive wins before that, although their only defeat in their last 10 came at the hands of Atalanta on matchday three.
In the grand scheme of things, that defeat may not prove to be costly with Liverpool only needing one more win from their two remaining games to qualify for the knockout stages, thanks to their three successive victories to nil in the first half of the group.
However, it does prevent Liverpool from being able to treat the final two games as dead-rubbers, which would have been an attractive prospect for a team so depleted by injuries.
It could also puncture the aura of fortress Anfield to some extent, with Atalanta the first visiting team to win there inside 90 minutes since September 2018, to win a Champions League group game there since 2014 and to win by more than one goal there in any competition since August 2015.
Home or away, it ended Liverpool’s eight-game unbeaten run in the Champions League group stages and left both Ajax and Atalanta breathing down their necks at the top of Group D.
Atalanta will be expected to beat pointless Midtjylland in Group D’s other match on Tuesday, which puts even more pressure on Ajax to get something from this visit to Anfield in order to prevent their matchday six showdown with Atalanta becoming a must-win affair.
What time is kick off and what channel is it on?
The game kicks off at 8pm GMT tonight. Coverage of the match will be live from 7pm on BT Sport 2.
There are several ways you can get BT Sport. If you have BT Broadband, you can put BT TV and Sport on your current package for as little as £15 per month.
Where can I stream it?
You can watch Liverpool v Ajax with a BT Sport monthly pass without signing up to a rolling contract.
BT Sport subscribers will also be able to stream the match on the BT Sport website and via the BT Sport app on a laptop, smartphone or tablets.
