Why is Vinicius Jr not playing against Liverpool? Real Madrid star has better Reds record than Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi
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Vinicius Junior will miss the opportunity to play in his favourite away stadium when Real Madrid face Liverpool this week.
The Ballon d’Or runner-up is a regular scourge of the Reds on-and-off the field and has yet to taste defeat against the club in his career.
At just 24 years old, the Brazilian has won four and drawn the other of his five Champions League meetings with the Merseysiders.
His most recent trip to Anfield saw him bag a brace to mastermind Los Blancos’ 5-2 comeback win having been two goals down.
Vinicius has struck five past Liverpool overall, one of which was the match-winner in the 2022 Champions League final, with two assists.
His extraordinary return while simultaneously going unbeaten has only left him one adrift of ex-Madrid teammate Karim Benzema.
The Frenchman has seven goals and an assist in eight unbeaten meetings with Liverpool but is 12 years older than Vinicius.
The latter, despite never playing in England, already has more goals against the Reds than Cristiano Ronaldo, Kevin De Bruyne, Erling Haaland, Bukayo Saka, and Phil Foden.
Why is Vinicius Jr not playing?
The Brazil international has been ruled out of the Champions League clash after sustaining a hamstring injury.
Vinicius played the entirety of Real’s 3-0 win over Leganes on Sunday but was left out of the club’s 19-man travelling party to England.
Madrid refused to reveal the severity of his injury, but revealed the winger had ‘an injury to the biceps femoris in his left leg’.
Reacting to their statement on X, Vinicius Jr wrote: “Crazy calendar. Time to recover.”
His absence is a major blow to Carlo Ancelotti, with Vini boasting 17 career goals and assists in 15 matches against English sides.
During an interview with Madrid’s media team ahead of last season’s European final, he listed Anfield as his favourite away ground.
Vinicius is unbeaten on his two visits to the Kop, also scoring twice, with Lionel Messi losing 4-0 with Barcelona on his last trip there.
Kylian Mbappe, who has been teammates with both, will now be relied upon by Madrid to be their starring force against Liverpool.
The Frenchman lost 3-2 with Paris Saint-Germain in his only Anfield outing, but he did get on the scoresheet.
Should he do so again then Mbappe will become the fourth-quickest player to 50 goals in the competition (78th appearance), behind Ruud van Nistelrooy (62), Lionel Messi (66) and Robert Lewandowski (77).
Liverpool vs Real Madrid: How to follow
This Champions League clash is set to take place on Wednesday, November 27.
Kick-off at Anfield is scheduled for 8pm.
talkSPORT will have live coverage from Merseyside, with Adrian Durham serving as your presenter.
Commentary will come from Jim Proudfoot and former England captain Stuart Pearce.
talkSPORT.com will also have updates in our dedicated live Champions League blog.
To tune in to talkSPORT through the website, click HERE for the live stream.
You can also listen via the talkSPORT app, on DAB digital radio, through your smart speaker and on 1089 or 1053 AM.
