UCL Preview: Liverpool, Atletico Madrid Renew Champions League Rivalry at Anfield

Liverpool and Atletico Madrid kick-start their 2026-27 Champions League campaigns with a mouth-watering League Phase clash at Anfield on Wednesday night.

The fixture is a repeat of last season’s matchday-one encounter, when the Reds secured a 3-2 home victory over their Spanish opponents, with Virgil van Dijk scoring a 92nd-minute winner.

Match preview

After coming from behind to rescue solitary points in back-to-back 2-2 draws with Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest in the Premier League, Liverpool celebrated their first victory of the Andoni Iraola era last Friday with a 2-0 away win over Ipswich Town.

Two goals inside the opening nine minutes from “massive player” Alexander Isak ensured Iraola avoided becoming the Reds’ first manager since Brendan Rodgers to fail to win any of his opening three top-flight matches, with the Spaniard admitting that his team “needed that one with the way it has been”.

Iraola is now preparing for his first taste of Champions League football as a manager, with six-time winners Liverpool aiming to improve on last season’s quarter-final finish and end an eight-year wait to lift Europe’s most prestigious club trophy.

Including results from last season, Liverpool have scored in each of their last nine competitive matches across all competitions, finding the net at least twice in six of those games, since they were eliminated from the Champions League quarter-finals by eventual winners Paris Saint-Germain in April, losing 4-0 on aggregate.

The Reds enter this year’s League Phase after finishing in the top three of the 36-team table in each of the last two campaigns, finishing first in 2024-25 and third last season with six wins from eight matches. They have also won their last six League Phase meetings with Spanish opposition, keeping four clean sheets in their last five encounters.

Read Also: Liverpool Escape Forest Scare With 2-2 Draw At Anfield

After collecting seven points from their opening three La Liga fixtures of the new season, Atletico Madrid’s unbeaten start came to an end on Saturday when they suffered a deserved 3-0 away defeat to Athletic Bilbao.

Previously renowned for his intense and defensively disciplined approach, head coach Diego Simeone lamented his side’s second-half performance against Athletic, describing it as “a real wake-up call” at this early stage of the campaign. Atleti have now conceded six second-half goals across their last three matches.

Simeone is, in fact, the longest-serving coach among clubs competing in the 2026-27 Champions League, having taken charge of Atletico in December 2011. The passionate Argentine is tasked with guiding the three-time losing finalists and last season’s semi-finalists to their first-ever triumph in the competition this term.

Los Rojiblancos head into Wednesday’s clash with Liverpool seeking their first-ever Champions League group stage/League Phase victory over an English team, having previously drawn four and lost six of their 10 encounters.

Atleti will at least back themselves to find the net against the Reds, having failed to score in only two of their last 24 group stage/League Phase games. They have also drawn a blank just once in their previous five visits to Anfield, recording one win, one draw and three defeats.

Liverpool form (all competitions):

D
D
W

Atletico Madrid form (all competitions):

W
D
W
L

Team News

Liverpool duo Federico Chiesa and Wataru Endo have been left out of the club’s Champions League squad, while Hugo Ekitike (Achilles), Conor Bradley and Giovanni Leoni (both knee) remain sidelined with injuries. There is also uncertainty over the availability of Joe Gomez (muscle).

After keeping a clean sheet against Ipswich, Iraola may decide to retain Barcelona loanee Ronald Araujo at right-back alongside Jeremy Jacquet, Van Dijk and Milos Kerkez in a four-man defence, while Ryan Gravenberch will be pushing to replace Alexis Mac Allister in a deep-lying midfield role.

New big-money signing Bradley Barcola, a two-time Champions League winner with PSG, could be handed his first start for the club on the right flank, potentially seeing Victor Munoz drop to the substitutes’ bench.

In-form Cody Gakpo is likely to retain his place on the left, with Florian Wirtz operating in the No. 10 position behind striker Isak, who has scored just once in 13 Champions League appearances in his career to date.

For Atletico Madrid, Alexander Sorloth is expected to miss out with a thigh injury, while Arnau Ortiz is suspended after receiving a red card while playing for Slask Wroclaw in a Conference League qualifier back in August 2024.

Simeone has a major decision to make in attack, with wantaway forward Julian Alvarez potentially in line for a start after featuring as a substitute in the defeat to Athletic. Jonathan David is also in contention to lead the line, while fellow new recruit Cristian Romero is hoping to earn his full debut at centre-back.

Club legend Koke will hope to replace either Morten Hjulmand or Pablo Barrios in central midfield. Atleti’s captain will become the 28th player to reach 150 UEFA club competition appearances if he features at Anfield.

Liverpool possible starting lineup:

Alisson; Araujo, Jacquet, Van Dijk, Kerkez; Szoboszlai, Gravenberch; Barcola, Wirtz, Gakpo; Isak

Atletico Madrid possible starting lineup:

Oblak; Llorente, Pubill, Romero, Grimaldo; Koke, Hjulmand; Simeone, Baena, Lookman; David

Liverpool 2-1 Atletico Madrid

Given the defensive frailties displayed by both clubs during the opening weeks of the campaign, an entertaining encounter could be on the cards at Anfield, where the introduction of summer signing Barcola should further strengthen a fearsome Liverpool frontline.

Although Simeone’s men possess the quality to hurt the hosts, Los Rojiblancos have historically struggled to grind out results against English opposition. Backed by a raucous Anfield crowd, Iraola’s charges may have enough attacking firepower to edge a tight contest and secure a fourth consecutive Champions League win over their Spanish counterparts.