Liverpool begin their latest pursuit of Champions League glory on Wednesday night when Atletico Madrid make the trip to Anfield.
The six-time European champions have struggled to challenge for the trophy in recent years, with eventual winners PSG eliminating them at the quarter-final stage last season.
Much has changed at Anfield since then, with Andoni Iraola replacing Arne Slot in the Reds’ dugout.
After overseeing draws in his first two Premier League matches in charge, Iraola claimed his maiden victory as Liverpool boss with a comfortable 2-0 triumph away at Ipswich last Friday night.
As for Atletico Madrid, they reached the Champions League semi-finals last season for the first time in almost a decade, only to suffer a narrow 2-1 aggregate defeat to Arsenal.
Diego Simeone’s side had made an encouraging start to their domestic campaign, but they were brought crashing back down to earth in a 3-0 defeat away at Athletic Bilbao on Saturday.
How the bookies view it: Light work for Liverpool
Liverpool are odds-on favourites to begin their Champions League campaign with a victory, with bet365 offering 7/10 on a home win.
Atletico Madrid are sizeable 15/4 outsiders to come out on top at Anfield, while the draw can be backed at 3/1.
Head to head: Reds seeking a repeat
Liverpool hold a slender advantage over Atletico Madrid in the head-to-head record, having won four of the nine previous meetings between the clubs compared to Atletico’s three.
The most recent encounter came at Anfield on the opening night of the league phase two seasons ago, when the Reds edged a dramatic five-goal thriller 3-2. Another Liverpool victory by the same scoreline on Wednesday night is available at a whopping 20/1 with bet365.
Players to watch: Go for another Gakpo goal involvement
Cody Gakpo has made an impressive start to the season, registering a goal involvement in each of Liverpool’s opening three Premier League matches. With that in mind, the 10/11 available with bet365 for the Dutchman to score or assist on Wednesday night looks good value.
Marcos Llorente has committed exactly two fouls in three of his four La Liga starts this season. The Atletico Madrid utility man is likely to be in direct opposition to the aforementioned Cody Gakpo, who has drawn a joint team-high five fouls for Liverpool in the Premier League this season. Llorente therefore looks worth backing at 13/8 with bet365 to commit at least two fouls.
Predicted line-ups
Liverpool’s injury situation remains unchanged, with Conor Bradley, Federico Chiesa, Giovanni Leoni, Hugo Ekitike and Joe Gomez all still sidelined.
Atletico Madrid will be without Arnau Ortiz at Anfield on Wednesday night as he serves a suspension carried over from last season, while Alexander Sorloth is also likely to miss out through injury.
Liverpool: Alisson; Araujo, Jacquet, Van Dijk, Kerkez; Gravenberch, Szoboszlai; Gakpo, Wirtz, Barcola; Isak
Atletico Madrid: Oblak; Llorente, Pubill, Hancko, Grimaldo; Simeone, Barrios, Hjulmand, Lookman; Lee, Baena
Anything else catch the eye?
A lively contest could be on the cards at Anfield based on what both teams have produced during the early stages of their domestic campaigns.
The price on both teams to score looks a little too skinny, but combining that selection with Liverpool over 2.5 corners boosts the odds to 4/5 in the Bet Builder.
That combination has landed in two of the Reds’ opening three Premier League matches this season.
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