Trent Alexander-Arnold returns to Anfield in white, and Liverpool are trying to convince everyone they\u2019re fine again after finally finding some form against the stooges of Aston Villa.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s no shortage of narratives this midweek, with Alexander-Arnold\u2019s Real Madrid back at Anfield in the Champions League and holders Paris Saint-Germain hosting their biggest threat to the throne, Bayern Munich.<\/p>\n
Tottenham Hotspur have a huge clash with Copenhagen after being booed off against Chelsea, while Rangers and Coventry City are both looking to bounce back from weekend defeats.<\/p>\n
Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City, Crystal Palace and Aston Villa are all in action too, but somehow, they\u2019ve all missed the cut for a jam-packed Big Midweek.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Player to watch: Trent Alexander-Arnold<\/p>\n
There\u2019s no guarantee that Trent Alexander-Arnold will start for Real Madrid at Anfield to face Liverpool<\/strong><\/a>, but there\u2019s a chance nonetheless. That\u2019s enough for us.<\/p>\n It\u2019s the biggest story of the week by far, with Alexander-Arnold viewed as a traitor by many Liverpool fans after he denied them a fee by walking to Madrid on a free transfer at the end of his contract.<\/p>\n There\u2019s not much to say about the England right-back that hasn\u2019t already been said, but the prospect of him actually lacing up to face Liverpool at Anfield is incredible. He doesn\u2019t deserve the boos he\u2019ll inevitably receive, but it wouldn\u2019t be a surprise to see him struggle under the daunting Anfield lights as an opposition player.<\/p>\n There were even Liverpool fans who revelled in his latest injury setback \u2014 which occurred in the opening minutes of Trent\u2019s Champions League debut for Los Blancos against Marseille, when he pulled up with a sore hamstring. Thankfully, Alexander-Arnold has recovered just in time to be considered for selection against his former club.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not Alexander-Arnold\u2019s fitness that\u2019s the concern, it\u2019s whether or not he should even start. The Champions League is an opportunity for Xabi Alonso to rotate, and after being an unused substitute in Madrid\u2019s last two La Liga games, there could be a change at right-back, with Federico Valverde potentially moving back into midfield after helping his side win 4-0 against Valencia.<\/p>\n Trent starting against Marseille suggests Alonso wants him to play in Europe, and while he is paid a lot of money to do a job against anyone, the Madrid boss might consider keeping him out of the firing line. Then again, Alonso will want his best players on the pitch.<\/p>\n We just know it\u2019s going to be juicy. And that\u2019s all we\u2019re here for.<\/p>\n And you can watch it for free.<\/strong><\/a>..<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Team to watch: Liverpool<\/p>\n Speaking of Liverpool and their match against Real Madrid\u2026<\/p>\n Bouncing back against Aston Villa<\/strong><\/a> was crucial for Arne Slot and his players after losing six of their last seven games, and doing so while keeping their third clean sheet of the season sets them up perfectly for an extremely difficult match on Tuesday.<\/p>\n Mohamed Salah has now scored in consecutive Premier League games and Ryan Gravenberch is back in the side, which cannot be underestimated. His calming presence in midfield goes a long way to making Slot\u2019s Liverpool look much more composed and calm, in and out of possession.<\/p>\n He has to start against Madrid, and it wouldn\u2019t be a shock if Slot\u2019s side are unchanged. Despite rotation being important, momentum and confidence are key at this stage. Liverpool need to prove they are still contenders for the Premier League and Champions League, and are through the other side of a historically poor run of form.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a huge week in general for the Premier League champions, who face Manchester City on Sunday. It\u2019s not a season-defining week for the Reds, but their results will provide a huge indication of where they\u2019ll be at the end of 2025\/26.<\/p>\n Liverpool vs Real Madrid predictions: Liverpool\u2019s revival will be tested by Europe\u2019s form team<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Game to watch: Paris Saint-Germain v Bayern Munich<\/p>\n It\u2019s just a belting tie, isn\u2019t it? It\u2019s definitely the best thing about the transformation from a group to a league phase.<\/p>\n The rematch of the 2020 lockdown final is now a clash between the two favourites for the 2025\/26 title, and it\u2019s not hard to see why. Bayern are currently nine from nine in the Bundesliga and look as dominant as ever with Harry Kane flying under Vincent Kompany, while PSG are unsurprisingly top of Ligue 1. Farmers\u2019 leagues be farming, folks.<\/p>\n The fixture really does all the talking for us, but similar to Liverpool and their week ahead, the result here could say a lot about both teams \u2014 more about the winner, anyway. Losing won\u2019t make either of them pretenders instead of contenders, especially when Arsenal brushed PSG aside in last season\u2019s league phase before losing to the eventual winners in the semi-final.<\/p>\n You\u2019d probably fancy Bayern to win if they were at home, but in Paris? Who knows? Let\u2019s just hope for an entertaining 90 minutes. With the lack of jeopardy involved for these two European Goliaths, it\u2019s hard to imagine it being anything but entertaining.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Manager to watch: Thomas Frank<\/p>\n Questions are being asked about Thomas Frank\u2019s Tottenham Hotspur after a limp home defeat to London rivals Chelsea<\/strong><\/a> on Saturday, with a clip of Djed Spence and Micky van de Ven snubbing their manager<\/strong><\/a> after the full-time whistle surfacing on social media. It wasn\u2019t a good look and sent out all the wrong messages, even if it was just two footballers being p*ssed off after losing an important game.<\/p>\n It\u2019s already water under the bridge, which is fantastic news ahead of a very winnable Champions League match for Spurs against FC Copenhagen.<\/p>\n Spurs, in truth, were handed an absolute beauty of a league phase schedule, but edging past Villarreal at home before lucky draws at Bodo\/Glimt and AS Monaco is a very underwhelming \u2014 albeit unbeaten \u2014 start.<\/p>\n Pressure is on Frank to make Spurs look like an exciting team, and working out how to get the best out of \u00a351million summer signing Xavi Simons would go a long way. There\u2019s a plethora of attacking talent in Frank\u2019s squad, but we\u2019re yet to really see anything to prove that statement.<\/p>\n Not only that, but Frank really needs to sort out his side\u2019s confusingly abysmal home form. Sixth in the Premier League after 10 games<\/strong><\/a> under the former Brentford boss is pretty good going, but winning at home to Wolves should be your bread and butter.<\/p>\n Spurs are 17th in the home table this season<\/strong><\/a> with one win from five games, but are top with four wins and one draw when playing away from their beautiful stadium.<\/p>\n Copenhagen are obviously a good side \u2014 good enough to be in the Champions League \u2014 but they are the Wolves of the competition. Spurs will be botching the most favourable league phase draw imaginable if they don\u2019t make light work of the Danes on Tuesday.<\/p>\n