Liverpool's Champions League mission impossible in Madrid has been made even harder by the sudden absences of two of their central midfielders.
The Reds will be without captain Jordan Henderson for the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie against Real Madrid due to illness, with the 2019 Champions League winning skipper failing to board the flight to Spain with his team-mates on Tuesday.
Henderson had been left out of the starting XI for the weekend defeat at Bournemouth through illness, but he did play for the final 25 minutes.
Teenage midfielder Stefan Bajcetic is also out despite being seen boarding the flight from John Lennon Airport.
Manager Jurgen Klopp has said that Bajcetic has sustained "a stress response around the adductor," adding "he doesn't feel a lot but we have to let it settle."
Henderson and Bajcetic join the injured Thiago Alcantara on the sidelines, with Arthur Melo also absent having not been selected for the Champions League squad. The on-loan Brazilian was an unused substitute at Bournemouth.
Despite the problems facing his team, Klopp is adamant that they will go all out for an unlikely progression.
"What I said three weeks ago after the game was Madrid were through, now we know there's a game to play," he said at his side's press conference in Madrid.
"If there's only 1 per cent chance, we give it a try. We play a strong opponent and try to win it. That is possible. For that we're here. We'll see where it leads to.
"We respect the competition and the opponent too much not to look forward to this tomorrow. I am looking forward to this game.
"If we can surprise ourselves in a negative way, we should be able to surprise ourselves in a positive way. It's clear we're not here telling Madrid: 'Be careful, we're coming'. But we're here to win the game.
"We have nothing to lose, it's a better situation than when you can lose everything. We can lose a game, we've felt that before, we don't like that. You can get a proper knock here. I would prefer Carlo [Ancelotti's] situation; to defend a 3-0 lead."
The midfield injuries mean that Fabinho, who was formerly on the books at Real Madrid, is certain to start in the Bernabeu, and he agrees with his manager's assessment on the game.
"We have to be cool-headed. That's it," said the Brazilian.
"We will do all that we can to enjoy the match and see if we can get to extra time, or even score more to take out Real Madrid.
"It's really difficult to us. We have to play smart to try to win the match. We need at least three goals but we need to do all we can to get to extra-time or even score more to take out Real Madrid."
