Champions League: Do Liverpool have their best chance to beat Real Madrid in 15 years?

One of the reasons why Mbappe is not playing in his preferred position is that Ancelotti can deploy Vinicius Jr on the left and Jude Bellingham on the right.

Bellingham, like Mbappe, is struggling to produce the form he is capable of and in 13 games across all competitions this season he has scored just two goals.

Those two strikes have come in his last two games, suggesting he could be finding his form after a slow start to the season that had already been marred by injury.

But that is in stark contrast to his incredible start to his debut campaign at Real last year, where he scored 11 goals in his first 12 games for the club.

“At the moment Jude Bellingham is doing a lot of defensive and offensive work,” said European football expert Mina Rzouki.

“There needs to be a better balance in midfield.”

But while Bellingham and Mbappe have yet to find their best form, Vinicius Jr has been flying this season.

The Brazilian striker has scored 12 goals in 16 games, including a hat-trick in a 4-0 win against Osasuna on 9 November.

And Liverpool fans will be relieved to see him out of Wednesday’s game with a hamstring injury, not forgetting his performance at Anfield last year when he sparked a Real Madrid comeback from two goals down with the first two strikes in a 5. -2 wins.

In total, he has scored five goals against the Reds and four in this Champions League campaign already, making him a big loss for Real.