Will Liverpool make the Champions League knockout stages?

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has enjoyed a number of memorable moments in the Champions League. Can he produce another one against Basel?

Liverpool face a must-win home game against rivals Basel in the Champions League on Tuesday night.

The Reds have picked-up just four points from their five group games so far this season, but know that a victory will be enough to take them through to the knockout stages of the competition.

Complacency

Liverpool have to avoid complacency going into this clash, as the Swiss side only needs a draw to go through to the knockout stages.

Basel are certainly no pushovers, as they have proved in recent years against the likes of Chelsea and Tottenham.

They will be heading to Merseyside confident that they can get the result needed to finish as runners-up in group B behind Spanish giants Real Madrid.

Struggling

Liverpool looked to have turned the corner with consecutive wins against Stoke and Leicester in the Premier League. However, last time out they could only claim a goalless draw at home to Sunderland and produced a lacklustre display.

The wins over Stoke and Leicester only papered over the fact that Brendan Rodgers team are really struggling to score goals and win games. Their Premier League record this season is not great and it shows that something is not right at Anfield at the moment.

Their struggles in the Champions League where not helped by the fact that they were drawn in a group containing European champions Real Madrid, who defeated the Reds home and away in the competition to top the group.

Liverpool could have afforded to lose both games against Los Blancos, if they had won all their games against the other two teams in the group Basel and Ludogorets. Instead the Reds have won just one of those games, at home against the Bulgarians with a last-gasp penalty kick.

Rodgers side claimed their other point of the group last time out in Bulgaria, drawing with Ludogorets 2-2. The draw just about kept Liverpool in the competition and gave their final group game against Basel extra meaning.

Special

For all the talk about Liverpool struggling to produce performances this season, the atmosphere for European nights at Anfield is still something to behold.

Liverpool has many a time came up against superior opposition on their home turf and won just through the sheer electricity coming from the fans. When their team needs them the Liverpool fans usually are that twelfth man.

I doubt it will be any different on Tuesday night, because make no mistake the Reds need every last bit of help they can get at the moment. The crowd’s passion and energy can inspire Rodgers team to the victory they need.

In their last home European match Real Madrid came to Merseyside and were simply too good for Liverpool. However, Basel does not possess the same frightening quality.

Hero

Liverpool are in desperate need of somebody to step-up and become a hero. In days gone by that hero was usually captain Steven Gerrard. The former-England star has been a catalyst for Liverpool wins on so many occasions during his career, including a crucial goal against Greek side Olympiakos in this competition ten years ago.

Gerrard has come in for heavy criticism this season and for the first time in almost his whole first team career he is not playing every game, as Brendan Rodgers uses the midfielder less frequently.

This is the sort of game that is set-up for Gerrard the captain, the warrior, the hero to produce something special and pull his team through with a victory. No doubt the 34-year-old still has at least one special moment left in the tank. Maybe it will come against Basel.

Qualify

I really do believe that Liverpool will probably somehow just about qualify for the knockout stages of the competition. However, if they do then far harder challenges lie ahead in the latter stages of the competition.

Finishing second in a Champions League group leaves you open to meeting one of Europe’s top sides in the last 16. The way Liverpool has played so far this season, then it is unlikely that the Reds will make it much deeper into the competition.

Liverpool may make it to the last 16 of the Champions League, but most Reds fans will know that their team needs to find form quickly or this season could prove to be a very disappointing one indeed.

Will Liverpool make the Champions League knockout stages?