Virgil van Dijk has discussed the absence of Julian Alvarez as Liverpool prepare to face Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.
Virgil van Dijk insists that Atletico Madrid will still be ‘very dangerous’ despite being without their talisman against Liverpool.
The Reds start their 2025-26 Champions League campaign against the Spanish outfit at Anfield tonight. But Atletico are missing several key players, including Julian Alvarez. The striker has a knee problem which meant he has not travelled to Merseyside.
Per Transfermrkt, it is the first game of Alvarez’s career that he misses because of an injury, so his absence comes as a surprise. It is a hammer blow for the visitors, with Alvarez scoring 29 goals last term and has helped Argentina to World Cup and Copa America glory, while he was part of Manchester City’s squad that won the Treble in 2022-23.
Atletico also have to cope without Thiago Almada, José María Giménez, Alex Baena and Johnny Cardoso against Liverpool.
What’s been said
Speaking at a pre-match press conference, Reds captain Van Dijk was asked if he will feel more relaxed not having to face Alvarez. The centre-back replied: “Alvarez is a fantastic player first and foremost, so that will be obviously a miss, but I still think that Atletico Madrid is a very dangerous team with great players, with a fantastic manager, so we have to be at our best tomorrow.
“And it’s not about me being relaxed, I’m always ready for anything and for tomorrow as well. I’ll be relaxed tonight when I’m doing my normal stuff in order to be ready for tomorrow, but tomorrow when I wake up and after pre-match I’ll be more than ready to rock and roll.”
Liverpool team news
Liverpool head into the Atletico encounter with only Curtis Jones on the treatment table. The midfielder also missed last Sunday’s last-gasp 1-0 win at Burnley. However, head coach Arne Slot confirmed that Jones is set to return to training on the morning of the Atletico fixture and that there is a chance he is back in contention for the Merseyside derby against Everton at Anfield on Saturday lunchtime.
“He will train with the team tomorrow so hopefully he is able to be in the squad on Saturday,” said Slot. “But not for tomorrow yet.”
Federico Chiesa will be absent against Atletico after not being included in the squad for the league phase of the Champions League. There is a chance that Alexander Isak makes his debut following his arrival from Newcastle United for a British record fee of £125 million.
“There is definitely a chance, because he is in the squad,” Slot said on Isak. “Then there is a chance to play. Normally I would say 99.9 per cent sure, but I can say it’s 100 per cent sure he will not play 90 minutes. But he is part of the squad.
“It is already a Champions League game to look forward to but if people look forward to his playing time, that could mean that could happen tomorrow as well. The only thing that is sure is he will not play 90, and all the rest you will see tomorrow.”
Continue Reading