Liverpool vs Real Madrid live stream, match preview, team news and kick-off time for this Champions League match

Liverpool's Darwin Nunez has recently found form
Liverpool's Darwin Nunez has recently found form (Image credit: Getty)

Liverpool vs Real Madrid live stream and match preview, Tuesday February 21, 8pm GMT

Liverpool vs Real Madrid live stream and match preview

Looking for a Liverpool vs Real Madrid live stream? We've got you covered. Liverpool vs Real Madrid is on BT Sport in the UK. Brit abroad? Use a VPN to watch the Champions League with your subscription from anywhere.

Liverpool welcome Real Madrid to Anfield for a mouth-watering Champions League last 16 first leg clash on Tuesday in a repeat of last season's final.

The two European giants, who have 20 titles between them in the competition, will face off over two legs in the headline tie of the round.

Last season, Real Madrid beat the Reds 1-0 at the Stade de France to clinch their 14th Champions League/European Cup crown, with a goal from Vinicius Jr settling a closely-fought encounter. 

That came after the Spaniards knocked Jurgen Klopp’s side out a year earlier at the quarter-final stage with a 3-1 aggregate victory.

Liverpool started 2023 in dreadful form with one win in seven games, but have recently bounced back with Premier League wins over Everton and Newcastle United.

Kick-off is at 8pm GMT. 

Team news

The big news for Liverpool is that Darwin has been passed fit after leaving the pitch with the shoulder injury at Newcastle on Sunday. There's also a first European start for Stefan Bajcetic, who becomes Liverpool's youngest-ever Champions League starter aged 18 years, 122 days.

Jurgen Klopp has named the following starting 11: (4-3-3) Alisson; Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joe Gomez, Virgil van Dijk, Andy Robertson; Jordan Henderson (captain), Fabinho, Stefan Bajcetic; Mo Salah, Cody Gakpo, Darwin Nunez

Toni Kroos makes the Real Madrid bench after illness, but fellow midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni is out for the same reason. 

Carlo Ancelotti has selected the following starting 11: (4-3-3) Thibaut Courtois; Dani Carvajal, Eder Militao, Antonio Rudiger, David Alaba; Fede Valverde, Eduardo Camavinga, Luka Modric; Rodrygo, Karim Benzema (captain), Vinicius Junior

Form

Liverpool: WWLLD

Real Madrid: WWWWL

Referee

Istvan Kovacs of Romania will be the referee for Liverpool vs Real Madrid.

Stadium

Liverpool vs Real Madrid will be played at Anfield. 

Kick-off and channel

Liverpool vs Real Madrid kick-off is at 8pm GMT on Tuesday, February 21 in the UK. The game is being shown on BT Sport 1, BT Sport Ultimate, BTSport.com and the BT Sport app.

In the US, kick-off time is 3pm ET / 12pm PT. The match will be shown on Paramount+ in the US. See below for international broadcast options.

VPN guide

Use a VPN to watch Champions League football from outside your country

If you’re out of the country for a Champions League fixture, then you won't be able to watch on your domestic streaming service as usual. The broadcaster knows where you are because of your IP address (boo!) and blocks you from watching it. You can use a VPN to get around that, though, without resorting to illegal feeds you’ve found on Reddit.

A Virtual Private Network (VPN), assuming it complies with your broadcaster’s T&Cs, creates a private connection between your device and t'internet, meaning the service can’t work out where you are and will let you watch. And all the info going between is entirely encrypted, anonymous and safe – and that's a result.

There are plenty of good-value options out there. For the Champions League, FourFourTwo currently recommends:

ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN including a 30-day, money-back guarantee
FourFourTwo’s brainy office mates TechRadar love its super speedy connections, trustworthy security and the fact it works with Android, Apple, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, PS5 and loads more. You also get a money-back guarantee, 24/7 support and it's currently available for a knockdown price. Go get it!

VPN legal disclaimer for Premier League live stream

(Image credit: Future)

International Premier League TV rights

• UK: Sky Sports and BT Sport are the two main players once again, but Amazon also have a slice of the pie in 2022/23. 
• USA: NBC Sports Group are the Premier League rights holders, with the Peacock Premium streaming platform showing even more than the 175 games it aired last season. If you pick up a fuboTV subscription for the games not on Peacock Premium, you'll be able to watch every game.
• Canada: The way to watch Premier League football in 2022/23 is fuboTV, which has exclusive rights to all the action.
• Australia: Optus Sport will screen every game of the Premier League season. Non-subscribers can access the action via a Fetch TV box and other friendly streaming devices.
• New Zealand: Sky Sport are serving up all 380 games – plus various highlights and magazine shows throughout the week, as well as the Champions League.

Alasdair Mackenzie is a freelance journalist based in Rome, and a FourFourTwo contributor since 2015. When not pulling on the FFT shirt, he can be found at Reuters, The Times and the i. An Italophile since growing up on a diet of Football Italia on Channel 4, he now counts himself among thousands of fans sharing a passion for Ross County and Lazio. 

With contributions from