Joe Cole makes confident Jurgen Klopp and Xabi Alonso prediction

15 March 2024 , 01:00

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Joe Cole has made a confident prediction (Image: PA)

Joe Cole is confident that Liverpool will face Bayer Leverkusen in the quarter-final of the Europa League after both teams booked their place in Friday's draw.

Fresh off the back of their 5-1 first leg win, Liverpool put the sword through Sparta Prague once again, hitting them for six in a dominant performance at Anfield. Goals from Darwin Nunez, Bobby Clark, Mohamed Salah, Dominik Szoboszlai and a Cody Gakpo brace sealed a thumping 11-2 aggregate victory.

Meanwhile, Leverkusen squeezed past Qarabag during a dramatic last 16 tie. After a 2-2 draw in the first-leg, Qarabag stormed into a two-goal advantage but went down to 10 men with less than half an hour to go. And Leverkusen, who have not lost a game all season, performed a dramatic turnaround, with Patrik Schick scoring twice in stoppage-time after Jeremie Frimpong had pulled one back.

Ahead of Friday's draw in Nyon, Switzerland, Cole has predicted that Liverpool and Leverkusen will take on each-other next month. He told TNT Sports: "Liverpool will get Bayer Leverkusen in the draw. I can feel it."

Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso has been linked with a sensational return to Liverpool and replace Jurgen Klopp, who will leave the Reds at the end of the season. Klopp replaced Brendan Rodgers on Merseyside in October 2015 and has since transformed the Reds both on and off the pitch.

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Alonso made over 200 appearances as a player during five years at Liverpool and is now doing a terrific job in Germany, with Leverkusen in pole position to win their first-ever Bundesliga title. They are 10 points clear at the top of the league and have gone 37 matches unbeaten so far this season.

Should Xabi Alonso replaced Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool this summer? Let us know in the comments below!

Xabi Alonso has guided Bayer Leverkusen to 37 matches unbeaten this season (Getty Images)

With Alonso the favourite to replace Klopp in the summer, it would be fascinating if Liverpool and Leverkusen are drawn together on Friday. West Ham, Benfica, AC Milan, Marseille, Atalanta and Roma are the other six sides still left in the competition - and teams from the same nation can now face each-other.

Speaking last month, Alonso, who was appointed as Leverkusen head coach in October 2022, issued a stern update on his future. "I'm assuming that right now [I will be Leverkusen coach next season]. It's not a problem for me. I know that my goal is to be successful with the team. This is my work," he said.

"We are in a very good situation right now. We want to continue like this. Right now I’m the coach. That's for sure. I have nothing new to say for the future. We will see. It's normal that there are questions, but it's off-topic now. Now is not the time for me to talk much about it."

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Kieran King