Champions League: Liverpool vs Atletico Part Two

Liverpool vs Atletico Madrid

Liverpool and Atletico Madrid come face to face on Wednesday in the Champions League tie of the round; and if the last meeting is anything to go by, we’re in for a cracker!

With three games already completed the teams are approaching the business end of the group stage and these two sides meet for the second time in two weeks, Liverpool coming out on top in a five-goal thriller last time. Jurgen Klopp’s Reds come into the game on the back of a frustrating draw with Brighton, while Diego Simeone’s Atletico beat Real Betis to keep up their challenge at the top of La Liga.

Liverpool could confirm their place in the last 16 if they win and Porto fail to beat AC Milan, while Los Rojiblancos will be hoping to strengthen their grip on second place in Group B.

Talking Points

Klopp wants to see the real Liverpool

The very latest Champions League 2021 betting odds place the Reds as fourth favourites to win the trophy (for a seventh time) at odds of 8.00, and with three Group B wins already in the bag they are at 1.07 to win the group. But they had a minor setback on Saturday, which head coach Jurgen Klopp hopes his team can shake off on Wednesday. After going 2-0 up against Brighton the Reds uncharacteristically conceded their lead and ended up with a 2-2 draw, losing ground to Chelsea in the title race. Klopp criticised his team’s body language, saying: “Bit by bit we lost another player. All of a sudden it wasn’t there. In the first half we were playing incredible passes between the lines but in the second half I can’t remember a lot.”

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Premier League

The game was also unusual in that Mo Salah didn’t score, instead of leaving that responsibility to Jordan Henderson and Sadio Mane. Salah has scored ten goals in ten Premier League games, making six assists to boot, and he is the second favourite to win the Champions League Golden Boot, behind only Robert Lewandowski and at a price of 5.00. The Egyptian hitman has hit five goals already in the tournament and is bang in form.

Any team can have a bad 45 minutes and maybe Liverpool had theirs on Saturday against the Seagulls. If the real Reds turn up on Wednesday then Atletico will have a game on their hands.

Simeone wants to see an Atletico clean sheet

Los Rojiblancos are available at SBOTOP odds of 36.00 to add the European crown to their 2020/21 La Liga title. Diego Simeone’s team should at least make the knockout phase, priced at 1.45 to finish in the top two of Group B. But Simeone’s normally water-tight defence hasn’t been quite as miserly as you’d expect, in fact, they haven’t kept a clean sheet away from home all season. Klopp will fully expect his counterpart to have his team well primed to repel the Reds’ attacking threat and it promises to be an entertaining contest. Aside from the three conceded against Liverpool, Atleti let in just a single goal in their other two group games.

Antoine Griezmann is top-scoring for Los Rojiblancos in the competition with three goals but, having been sent off in the return game, he’ll sit this one out. The Spaniards ended a sequence of two draws with a convincing 3-0 win over in-form Real Betis on Sunday, a result which kept them up with the La Liga pace-setters and Griezmann put in an eye-catching performance, while his likely replacement for Wednesday, Joao Felix, scored the third goal.

Champions League: Antoine Griezmann will not be featured in Atletico Madrid's match away from home against Liverpool — Antoine Griezmann appeals to the referee after being shown a red card during their match against Liverpool

Of course, there will be a warm welcome for former Liverpool star and Atleti’s current top league scorer, Luis Suarez until the referee blows the whistle to start the game. The Uruguayan is always a threat, scoring six in La Liga already in this campaign.

History

Atletico have had the better of the head to heads; they have won five of the nine encounters, while Liverpool have won two and there have been two draws.

Of course, Liverpool won the return 3-2 in dramatic circumstances to give us some of the best Champions League 2021 highlights of the tournament so far. Salah scored twice and Naby Keita got the third for Liverpool after Griezmann scored a brace to level the scores before getting himself sent off.

In the previous encounter, Atleti put the Reds out of the 2020 competition with a Round of 16 victory over two legs.

Betting Tip

	Liverpool vs Atletico Madrid	Over 2.50 @ 1.82
	November 04, 04:00 (GMT+8)

Liverpool are at odds of 1.65 to win this tie and 4.00 to draw, and Atletico are out at 4.70 to leave Anfield with all three points. And while Simeone will set his side up to frustrate the Reds’ prolific attack, he could do with a win and I can see goals at both ends.