Rio Ferdinand thinks Liverpool’s front three can ‘destroy’ Bayern Munich in their Champions league showdown on Wednesday.
Liverpool travel to Germany for the second leg with the last-16 tie finely balanced after a goalless draw at Anfield.
The Reds are the underdogs in Bayern’s backyard, but have Virgil van Dijk back in the side after suspension.
With Liverpool at full strength, Ferdinand believes the front three of Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane could run riot.
‘I think it’s going to be a great game and a great occasion. It’s a chance for Liverpool to say we are in this tournament and put in a good performance against an aging, declining Bayern team,’ he said on BT Sport.
‘It is 50-50, but the happier camp’s got to be the Liverpool team.
‘You get an away goal and I think they’re in the driving seat. They can sit back and think their front three can destroy Bayern.
‘Van Dijk is back too to marshal the backline, Liverpool have got to be the confident team going into this.’
While Ferdinand may be confident about Liverpool’s chances, Jurgen Klopp angerily dismissed the idea staying in the Champions League was bad for the club’s Premier League hopes.
Gary Neville suggested Liverpool should bow out against Bayern so as to focus on the title race, but Klopp rubbished those comments.
‘It is so easy to sit in an office or a studio and talk about things like that,’ he said.
‘You draw a season and say the best way to go through it is to go out of all the cup competitions early.
‘You do that and in that moment the same people go for you like mad.
‘Now it is closer to the end of the season and it is allowed to go out of the Champions League without even trying to go through? That’s really mad.’