Kick-off: 1730, 18/12/2019
Stadium: Khalifa International Stadium
TV: BBC Two
Liverpool head into their Club World Cup semi-final with Monterrey in Qatar trying to continue Europe’s dominance of this tournament.
The last six Champions League winners have gone on to lift this trophy, while only Corinthians in 2012 have denied the Continent a 12-year monopoly.
We’re looking for the Reds to outclass their Mexican opponents and book a place in the final, so 3/2 they win both halves is our initial Monterrey vs Liverpool prediction.
A Look At Monterrey’s Betting Odds
Monterrey qualified as a result of being crowned CONCACAF Champions League winners for the fourth time and put in a positive display to beat Al-Sadd 3-2 on Saturday.
They were prepared to shoot from long range and had already hit the bar before full-back Leonel Vangioni fired in a spectacular 30-yard strike which flew in off the inside of the post.
Rogelio Funes Mori then pounced on a poor back pass to double the advantage with a cool finish.
Pacey Colombian Dorlan Pabon twice went close, before Al-Sadd pulled one back, but Carlos Rodriguez restored the two-goal advantage with another fierce shot.
There was time for a superbly-struck response from Al-Sadd to make it 3-2, but Monterrey had done enough to progress.
Monterrey certainly showed some encouraging signs going forward, but they did also look very open at the back on occasions.
Much-travelled Argentine manager Antonio Mohamed admitted: “We have to play better and perform better if we want to compete against Liverpool – we have to raise the bar.”
We’re hoping the Mexican outfit at least remain positive and like 19/2 for the Reds to oblige 3-1 from the Monterrey vs Liverpool odds.
A Look At Liverpool’s Betting Odds
Liverpool enjoyed some memorable moments en route to securing a sixth UEFA Champions League success, taking out Bayern Munich, Porto, Barcelona and Tottenham in some action-packed matches.
The Reds have since gone from strength to strength and are 10 points clear at the top of the Premier League table after dropping only two points in 17 games.
Jurgen Klopp will be buoyed by playing on a fine surface at Khalifa International Stadium, while the match ball being used certainly seemed conducive to scoring goals in Al-Sadd’s earlier round.
Midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri should be able to give his team-mates an insight into this tournament, as he was a winner with Bayern in 2013.
He told the club website: “It’s special because you play against totally different nations’ clubs, so it’s an amazing experience.
“It’s a long way to get there, so we have to enjoy that too, but we will do everything to win. It’s an opportunity to bring one more trophy back to Liverpool.”
Their opponents seemed slow to pick up runners from deeper positions over the weekend, so let’s add 3/1 for Sadio Mane to open the scoring to our Monterrey vs Liverpool betting tips.
Additional stats
Last result:
MONTERREY 3-2 Al Sadd – Leonel Vangioni, Rogelio Funes Mori, Carlos Rodriguez
LIVERPOOL 2-0 Monterrey – Mohamed Salah (2)
Head-to-head: N/A
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