Liverpool return to Champions League action on Wednesday when they host Atletico Madrid at Anfield in their opening league-phase fixture of the new campaign.
The match marks Andoni Iraola’s first Champions League game since taking charge at Anfield.
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The Reds go into the tie in good form. Alexander Isak scored twice inside the opening ten minutes as Liverpool won 2-0 away at Ipswich Town on Friday, their first Premier League victory of the season after opening the campaign with two draws.
Atletico arrive at Anfield in worse shape.
Diego Simeone’s side were beaten 3-0 at Athletic Bilbao on Saturday, their first defeat of the La Liga season, with Nico Williams, Robert Navarro and Oihan Sancet scoring inside a chaotic second half at San Mames.
That result ended an unbeaten start to the league campaign.
Atletico had opened with a 2-0 win over Malaga, a 2-2 draw with Villarreal, and a 3-1 win away at Sevilla, before the collapse in Bilbao.
Midfielder Pablo Barrios said Athletic’s quickfire double early in the second half proved decisive. “Their two goals, in the blink of an eye, did us a lot of damage,” he told Movistar.
On top of that result, Simeone will be without winger Arnau Ortiz for the trip to Merseyside, according to MARCA.
The absence does not stem from injury or a suspension picked up this season, but from a carried-over UEFA ban dating back to August 2024.
Ortiz was sent off during a Conference League qualifier while on the books of Polish club Slask Wroclaw. He was brought on as a substitute and, within three minutes, was shown two yellow cards: the first for diving, the second for protesting the decision.
St. Gallen won the second leg 3-2 to eliminate Slask Wroclaw 4-3 on aggregate. Because that qualifier was Ortiz’s last appearance in UEFA competition, the one-match ban he picked up went unserved until now.
Ortiz left Poland and returned to Spain, joining Atletico Madrid’s reserve team. Simeone promoted him to the first team this summer, and he has made three appearances for the senior squad so far.
Wednesday’s match would have marked his Champions League debut for Atletico. Instead, he must wait, with Atletico’s next league-phase fixture against Manchester United on October 13 now standing as his likely first opportunity to feature in the competition for the club.
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