Although Liverpool have not been doing well in the English Premier League so far, Jurgen Klopp's side progressed to the last 16 of the Champions League by winning five of their six group stage matches and only losing one to Napoli.

Both Liverpool and Napoli finished group A with 15 points with Napoli ending the group on top by virtue of the goal difference rule, meanwhile Real Madrid claimed the bragging rights in group F ahead of RB Liepzig to progress through to the last 16 on 13 points.

Real Madrid's midfield maestro Luka Modric has mentioned that the two sides meet each other in a rather unfamiliar stage of the competition citing that its a "shame" that Liverpool and Real Madrid are meeting in the last 16 and not later in the competition.

Modric also expressed his shock at Liverpool's position in the English Premier League, "I am really surprised that Liverpool are so far from the first place in the Premier League but also seeing the Liverpool squad we know that at any time they can react and start to come back in the season," said Modric.

Modric also alluded that he hopes Liverpool will not come back in the season with the two encounters against Real Madrid.

With Toni Kroos and Aurelien Tchouameni both set to miss out on the encounter having failed to rejoin training in time due to fitness problems, Madrid have received a major boost with striker Karim Benzema being available for the Liverpool trip despite missing Madrid's 2-0 victory against Osasuna during the weekend.

Thibaut Courtois has also recovered and will start, with Ferland Mendy the only other absentee from the senior squad in the 23 man selection.

Meanwhile Liverpool might also be without the services of striker Darwin Nunez ahead of the Real Madrid clash after Kieran Trippier's "horrible" foul on the forward.

Nunez attempted to skip past Trippier on the edge of the box, and the English defender sent his rival flying with a brutal slide tackle, while inadvertently handling the ball, to prevent him from encroaching on the Magpies' goal. But Nunez landed on his shoulder in the process, eventually forcing him to leave the pitch to nurse the injury.

With Liverpool winning their last two consecutive Premier League clashes, Jurgen Klopp and his charges will hope to emulate those performances into the Champions League in a bid to qualify for the quarterfinals of the competition while Madrid will look to continue their dominance against the Merseyside team.

Kick-off at Anfield on Tuesday night is at 22:00 CAT.