Overview
Coach Andoni Iraola is about to have his first match leading Liverpool in the Champions League, after helping The Kop regain victory by defeating Ipswich Town 2-0.
Iraola started his term at Liverpool with 2 consecutive draws against Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest. In the away match at Ipswich, Alexander Isak shone with a double in just the first 9 minutes, both assisted by Cody Gakpo. Isak has had 3 goals since the beginning of the season, while Gakpo directly contributed to 4 Premier League goals with 1 goal and 3 assists.
The "Reds" also have to adapt to the absence of Mohamed Salah, for the first time since the 2014-2015 season. In Liverpool's Champions League history, Salah is the leading player in terms of appearances with 83 matches, scoring 47 goals and 19 assists.
Iraola will have a difficult test when facing Diego Simeone. In the previous 4 encounters with Atletico Madrid, he has never won, with 3 defeats and 1 draw.
However, Liverpool has impressive records in their Champions League opening matches at home. They have never lost, winning 10 and drawing 2 out of 12 matches. The last 3 opening matches at Anfield all ended with a score of 3-2, the most recent of which was the confrontation with Atletico Madrid last season.
Atletico also wants to quickly regain their form after the 0-3 defeat to Athletic Bilbao in La Liga. This is the first time Simeone's team has conceded 2 goals in just the first 3 minutes of the second half in a domestic league match.
This will be Atletico's 14th consecutive Champions League season participating. They are in the group of 6 clubs that have participated in every season since 2013-2014, alongside Real Madrid, Barcelona, PSG, Bayern Munich and Man City.
One of the issues of concern is the possibility of Julian Alvarez returning to the starting lineup. The Argentine striker scored 10 goals in the Champions League last season, the most for Atletico, but only came on as a substitute in the defeat to Athletic Bilbao. Alvarez was linked with Barcelona in the summer but the deal failed.
Atletico still has a particularly dangerous player when facing Liverpool, Marcos Llorente. The Spanish midfielder has scored 4 goals in just 2 appearances at Anfield. This is the stadium where Llorente has a particularly good scoring record, only behind Metropolitano in terms of goals scored.
Head-to-head record
Liverpool is dominating in recent encounters with Atletico Madrid in the Champions League. They won 3, drew 2 and lost 2 after 7 confrontations in the tournament.
The Red Brigade" has won 3 recent matches against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League, including a 3-2 victory at Anfield last season thanks to Virgil van Dijk's decisive header in injury time.
However, Atletico is still an opponent that once caused many difficulties for Liverpool. The Spanish team won both rounds of 16 of the 2019-2020 Champions League season, with scores of 1-0 and 3-2 respectively, thereby eliminating Liverpool from the tournament.
Score prediction: Liverpool 1-0 Atletico Madrid
The match between Liverpool and Atletico Madrid takes place at 2:00 a.m. on September 10 (Vietnam time).
