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Liverpool should drop misfiring striker Mario Balotelli and play Raheem Sterling up front according to former Reds defender Jamie Carragher.
Brendan Rodgers faces a selection dilemma over whether to stick with the out of form Italian forward for Wednesday night's match or deploy Rickie Lambert in attack instead.
However Jamie Carragher believes the Reds boss should gamble by playing Raheem Sterling as a lone striker for the first time in his Anfield career, after the 19 year-old 's dazzling display against QPR.
"Balotelli doesn't run around enough," Carragher said in role as an analyst on Sky Sports' Monday Night Football. "Against Real Madrid you've got to get that crowd going. You need to get back to Liverpool of last year and that pressing.
He added: "There's got to be an energy about Liverpool that we haven't seen; we've seen it once this season at Spurs. It's going on too long now and we can't keep waiting. It's a huge game and Liverpool have to get something from it.
"I would put Sterling in there because he can run in behind and Liverpool may have to counterattack a lot of the game. Madrid may have a lot of the ball. Sterling can also press from the front. He doesn't have to play right up front and he can come back and help the midfield.
"They can't have any passengers against Real Madrid.
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Carragher also said Phillipe Coutinho, who came off the bench to score against QPR on Sunday also deserves to start: "The decision I would make would be to bring Coutinho in for Balotelli. I wouldn't play Balotelli in this game. I would play Sterling, whether you'd call it a centre forward or a false nine."
