Liverpool kick off their Champions League campaign with a mouth-watering contest against Spanish powerhouse Atletico Madrid at Anfield on Wednesday evening.
It’s one of the headline fixtures of the Champions League matchweek one, especially with the Premier League champions also being one of the betting favourites with GGBet and other online gambling platforms to lift the Champions League trophy at the end of the season.
Arne Slot’s side have won each of their opening four Premier League games this season. While they host the Spaniards with a perfect record, Diego Simeone’s side have only just got off the mark in La Liga.
After four La Liga games, the Rojiblancos finally got their first win, beating Villarreal 2-0 on home turf, so they’ll travel to Anfield with a measure of confidence.
Match preview
Since replacing Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool, Slot has hit several milestones, and he etched his name into the record books again over the weekend.
In their fourth Premier League outing of the season, the Reds left it late once again, edging Burnley 1-0 at Anfield thanks to a stoppage-time penalty from Mohamed Salah.
Salah’s goal saw Liverpool become the first team in Premier League history to win their opening four games of a season after scoring the winner in the final 10 minutes.
It’s a record that has both positive and negative connotations for Liverpool.
While Slot’s men have shown remarkable resilience to find solutions late on, how long they can keep the last-gasp heroics going remains to be seen.
For now, the champions will care little. The main statistic that matters for the reigning Premier League champions is their perfect haul of 12 points from 12 on offer.
They have cemented their place at the top of the Premier League rankings early on, sending a message to the rest of the division about their intent to defend the crown.
Liverpool will now shift their attention from domestic duties to their continental quest.
The Reds were left smarting last season when they were sent packing from the Champions League round of 16 by Paris Saint-Germain despite dominating the league phase.
PSG went on to win the title, so bowing out to the eventual champions softened the blow, but Slot and his troops know that they must prove themselves again in Europe.
Fortunately, Anfield is still a fortress under the floodlights.
The Reds have won 14 consecutive home games in UEFA competition – across both the Champions League and Europa League – scoring at least twice in the most recent 13 of those games.
Meanwhile, Atletico are kicking off another Champions League campaign with their trademark resilience under Simeone once again in focus.
Since the Argentine took charge, no Spanish team has kept more clean sheets in the competition after 50+ games under a single manager, with Atletico keeping opponents at bay in 42% of their games.
That said, they haven’t started the 2025/26 season as they mean to go on. Simeone’s side looked uncharacteristically fragile, failing to win any of their opening three La Liga fixtures.
A 2-1 defeat to Espanyol was followed by back-to-back 1-1 draws against Elche and Alaves. The international break came at just the right time, giving Los Rojiblancos a chance to reset.
They responded in strong fashion, picking up their first win of the season with a 2-0 win over Villarreal.
Goals on either side of half time from Pablo Barrios and Nico Gonzalez got Atletico over the line.
Atletico are heading into their 13th consecutive Champions League campaign. They have scored in 15 of their last 16 group-stage matches and have only lost twice in their last 15 opening fixtures.
Los Rojiblancos have also lost just once in their first six meetings with the Reds.
However, Liverpool beat Atletico twice in the 2021/22 Champions League group stage, the start of four straight victories against Spanish sides in Europe’s premier tournament for the hosts.
Team News
Liverpool fans may not have to wait longer to see Alexander Isak in action. The £125m striker was left out of Slot’s plans against Burnley, despite strong calls for his debut.
However, the Dutchman has hinted that the Swede will finally be part of the squad on Wednesday, although he might start the game on the bench.
Alexis Mac Allister is also a doubt for the midweek clash after being withdrawn at half-time against Burnley, following a heavy challenge from Lesley Ugochukwu.
With Curtis Jones also out injured, Dominik Szoboszlai could move back into midfield to free up space for Jeremie Frimpong at right back.
Meanwhile, Federico Chiesa was left out of Liverpool’s Champions League group phase squad.
Atletico have a few problems of their own. Simeone lost four players to injury in the 2-0 win over Villarreal, with Julian Alvarez, Gonzalez, Robin Le Normand, and David Hancko all forced off.
Hancko’s ankle injury looks the most serious, while the others are battling fatigue.
With Jose Gimenez, Alex Baena, and Thiago Almada already sidelined, Simeone could turn to Conor Gallagher to fill in on the left if Gonzalez does not recover in time.
Liverpool possible starting line-up:
(4-2-3-1): Alisson; Jeremie Frimpong, Ibrahima Konate, Virgil van Dijk, Andrew Robertson; Ryan Gravenberch, Dominik Szoboszlai; Mohamed Salah, Florian Wirtz, Cody Gakpo; Hugo Ekitike.
Atletico Madrid possible starting line-up:
(4-4-2): Jan Oblak; Marcos Llorente, Robin Le Normand, Clement Lenglet, Matteo Ruggeri; Giuliano Simeone, Pablo Barrios, Koke, Conor Gallagher; Antoine Griezmann, Alexander Sorloth.
