Maribor v Liverpool preview: Reds hunt first Champions League win of season

Liverpool will be hoping it's third time lucky when they head to Maribor on Tuesday in search of their first Champions League victory of the season.

Two points from their opening two group matches is not what boss Jurgen Klopp would have expected, especially after surrendering a winning position late on at home to Sevilla in their opening game.

Back-to-back matches against Slovenian champions Maribor present the Merseysiders with an ideal opportunity to strengthen their claim for progression to the knockout phase, before ending their campaign with a difficult trip to Sevilla and home clash with Spartak Moscow.

Having failed to convert their dominance into victory in Moscow last time out, the Reds have the chance to claim only their second Champions League away win in almost eight years - their last came against Debrecen in November 2009.

Team news

Joe Gomez is available as the right-back returns from suspension, but he is likely to be left on the bench - having played against Manchester United on Saturday - with Jurgen Klopp set to use Trent Alexander-Arnold as he continues to rotate his young full-backs.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Klopp intends to keep changes to a minimum but could give Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain his first Champions League start for the club. Sadio Mane remains a long-term absentee.

Match stats

• This will be the first competitive encounter between Maribor and Liverpool. Maribor have won only one of their eight games against English opposition in all competitions (D2 L5), a 2-1 win against Wigan Athletic in the 2013/14 Europa League group stages. They have also never kept a clean sheet in those eight games.
• Meanwhile, Liverpool's only previous encounter with a Slovenian club came in the first round of the 2003/04 UEFA Cup. They drew 1-1 away against Olimpija Ljubljana before a 3-0 win at Anfield.
• Maribor have won only one of their 14 games in the Champions League group stages (D5 L8) - it came in their first-ever match back in September 1999 against Dynamo Kiev (1-0). They have never scored more than once in those 14 games.
• Maribor are winless at home in the Champions League group stages (D3 L4). They are the only team yet to pick up a card in this season's Champions League.
• Maribor are making their third appearance in the Champions League after 1999/00 and 2014/15 but have never reached the knockout stages. Meanwhile, this is Liverpool's 10th Champions League campaign, and only their second appearance in the group stages in the last eight seasons. They haven't reached the knockout stages of the competition since 2008/09.
• Liverpool have failed to win their last seven Champions League games (D4 L3), their longest-ever run without a victory in the competition. They have also failed to keep a clean sheet in their last nine CL games.

Charlie's prediction

I have to say when I was looking at this that I felt there was a big opportunity for a bet on Maribor at 20/1. I don't think they have changed much in their approach of sitting in and playing on the counter-attack, which they did against Celtic a couple of years ago. We know that's where Liverpool have issues.

There's agitation and annoyance in Liverpool, not just with Jurgen Klopp, who must be sick to death of saying 'we were the better team again'. I think this will be another tough night for Liverpool. I think it could even be a late goal for them to get the win, with captain Jordan Henderson coming to the rescue with an overdue goal.

Charlie predicts: 0-1 and Henderson to score first (80/1 with Sky Bet)

Betting

Sky Bet make Liverpool 1/5 favourites as they stack odds of 16/1 against Maribor despite their home advantage, while the draw is priced at 6/1.

The Reds have drifted out to 6/5 to win Group E but remain odds-on to qualify for the knockout stages.

Daniel Sturridge and Roberto Firmino are the 11/4 favourites to open the scoring while Marcos Tavares is considered the hosts' main threat at 12/1.

Play Super 6

Simply predict six correct scores to win the £250k jackpot. Enter your selections for free here.