LIVERPOOL VS. ATLÉTICO MADRID
| Wednesday, September 16th |
Champions League, League Phase | Anfield
8PM BST/3PM EST
Atletí are confirmed to be without their most dangerous player, Julián Alvarez, for this match as the forward went off at halftime with a knee injury against Villarreal in the team’s first La Liga win this past weekend. Diego Simeone’s side will also be without Johnny Cardoso (injury picked up in training), Thiago Almada, Álex Baena and José María Giménez. For a team very much in transition, these injuries are bad
news.
That said, Simeone did not make any excuses in his pre-match press conference, reminding those present, “Missing players is part of the game. We are focused on the ones who can play tomorrow.” Though he’s no longer their central threat due to his age, Antione Griezmann has certainly hurt Liverpool before, and this version of Atletí in transition have a number of young, promising players who will want to prove themselves at the top level.
Atlético Madrid have had a challenging start to this season, though the results in La Liga look slightly worse than they seem in some ways. Although Atletí won their last match against Villarreal 2-0, they’ve otherwise drawn twice 1-1 against Alavés (A) and Elche (H) after losing 1-1 to Espanyol away on the opening day. Statistically they actually performed best against Elche, accumulating 1.81 xG (their highest) and conceding just xG 0.48. In their other three matches they’ve managed xG differences of 0.04, 0.1, and 0.15 — very much not healthy or sustainable numbers. A positive does come from the source of the narrow margins, though: while it largely the result of not creating enough, with the side limiting their opponents to below 1.0 xG every match bar one.
What does this mean? Though Simeone’s sides have evolved over his near 14 years at the helm, Liverpool will nonetheless be looking at their third game in as many where they face very stingy, well-organized defensive units — even if not quite as anti-football as some Simeone sides in the past. Historically they have a good record scoring in Champions League group matches, too, but Liverpool will hope their own improved defensive structure in recent games will limit their already limited attacking output this season.
Though it feels like we’ve met Atletí often in recent times, this is actually the first time the two have faced each other in six European Cup campaigns. The Reds were victorious in the last two group stage meetings both home and away in 2021/22, but Atletí knocked Liverpool out after extra time in 2019/20 — at Anfield, though in the odd times of 2020, with COVID very much beginning to shut large events down.
Though it isn’t a tactical consideration, it’s worth noting that Simeone will be targeting this competition, as it’s the only trophy he has not won in his long tenure with Atletí. Atletico Madrid has been in the Champions League for 13 consecutive seasons, and lost two finals — both against Real Madrid, which we can certainly sympathize with. Both sides have a history of avoiding loses on matchday 1 in both the old format and the new one, though while Atletí have only lost one of their last 15 (W8 D5), the Reds have won 14 straight, keeping nine clean sheets in the last 12 and scoring more than two goals in the previous 13.
Predicted Liverpool Lineup (4-3-3)
Alisson; Bradley, Konaté, Van Dijk, Robertson; Wirtz, Kerkez, Szoboszlai; Salah, Ekitiké, Gakpo
Arne Slot has decisions to make with the full week ahead in mind, and whether to start the mercurial young fullback Miloš Kerkez despite his foolish yellow card and early departure against Burnley is definitely among them. Liverpool have the derby at the weekend, and if we think that Andy Robertson is likely to start one of the next two, I would bet he’s selected to face Everton rather than the crucial but less emotional league phase opener.
Curtis Jones is out for Liverpool with the knock he picked up against Arsenal, but Alexis Mac Allister was in training after suffering the crunching ankle bender against Burnley. Though Slot may choose to start Dominik Szoboszlai at right back once again following good showings, with both Conor Bradley and Jeremie Frimpong back in the mix the Hungarian might look to return to his preferred position. Though Mac Allister seems surprisingly alright despite having suffered the bad tackle, he has arguably seemed a bit out of form in possession for the Reds, so there is a chance we see a midfield two of Ryan Gravenberch and Szoboszlai. Regardless of the final positions, getting Szoboszlai onto the pitch is surely the most important thing, at least if you’re asking me, specifically.
Alexander Isak is confirmed as part of the squad for the match, but Slot has confirmed he will not play the full 90 minutes. As such, the question is whether he will start or come off the bench, and given he’s building up to full fitness an Isak substitute appearance seems the most likely — expect to see him as Slot’s usual Ekitiké substitution.
While there’s been much chat around Florian Wirtz finally clicking in the Premier League, he’s one to watch here. Though he’s been an important part of Liverpool’s build-up in the league without yet making it on the scoresheet, it’s notable that he has scored six in his first nine Champions League appearances, which is a German record.
If you’re a Mohamed Salah tracker, note that he has 18 goals in his last 20 group stage/league phase matches, and has scored more goals (44) and recorded more assists (17) than any other Liverpool player in the Champions League. These are pretty good stats. Should he inevitably start or make a substitute appearance, he will also move into second outright for appearances for the Reds in the competition, overtaking Steven Gerrard (73) and trailing behind only Jamie Carragher (80). He will certainly have his eyes on this record, which is mathematically in sight for the Egyptian.
The Managers Have Their Say
Arne Slot: “This is a team that is a difficult one to play against because of the mentality and because of their team performance and because of their individual quality. The last time I faced them I still wake up sometimes at night – it’s maybe not true! – but thinking about [Antoine] Griezmann and how good he was in that game. I think we lost 3-1, I’m not exactly sure, but he was outstanding in that game. The good thing now is that in my team I have players that can do similar things [as] Griezmann can do. I loved my players at Feyenoord a lot as well, but at that moment in time and in that moment of their career they were not able to compete with Griezmann on that night.”
Diego Simeone: “We play against an extraordinary opponent in a magnificent stadium with unbelievable fans, a coach that took his team to the top level. They competed very well in the Champions League last season and won the league. We have a tough opponent but we will try to hurt them in the game tomorrow whenever we can.”l try to manage the ball—this will be key. Unfortunately we’re a bit shit compared to Arne’s Mighty Reds but what can you do?”
The Officials
Referee: Marurizio Mariano (ITA) Assistants: Daniele Bindoni (ITA), Alberto Tegoni (ITA) Fourth Official: Matteo Marcenaro (ITA) VAR: Marco Di Bello (ITA) Assistant VAR: Aleandro Di Pablo (ITA)
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