Diego Simeone will be back at Anfield
Diego Simeone will be back at Anfield
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The Champions League is back at Anfield and Liverpool fans will no doubt be dreaming about European Cup No.7.
Reds fans have a love affair with this competition for good reason and it all starts again when Atletico Madrid visit Merseyside for the second time in 12 months on Wednesday night.
We're no strangers to Atletico having played them several times since 2020 and Diego Simeone is one of the most combustible and passionate coaches in world football.
It's fair to say we have a little bit of history with 'el Cholo', don't we?
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Simeone has been at Atletico Madrid for 15 years now but he has lost none of that famous drive or will to win and you can bet he will have his players right up for this one at Anfield. Liverpool need to match that on the night.
It was Simeone's side that knocked us out in 2020 when Jurgen Klopp's team were Champions League holders at the time and we managed to beat them home and away in the group stages the following season.
It was Virgil van Dijk's header that secured a hard-fought win against them in September 2025. It is always a tough night against Atletico, there is plenty of evidence of that.
They are a really good side and even though we beat them 3-2 at Anfield last year, they ended up going all the way to the semi-finals, so this will be a tough one on Wednesday night. There are easier ways to begin your European campaign that is for sure.
But the good thing is is that they are unlikely to be like a lot of the Premier League teams who come to Anfield and get men behind the ball.
I can't see Atletico playing in a 4-5-1 or a 4-6-0. They will look to bring the fight to us as much as we will for them, so that means spaces might open up at both ends and make it a fascinating game as a result.
A win takes real pressure off Andoni Iraola heading into matchday two and we have seen from our own recent history in the revamped Champions League that there is no real need to go all out to finish top of the group stage.
Liverpool finished top in 2025 and ended up getting Paris Saint-Germain anyway in the knockout stages. Last season, they finished third and wound up meeting PSG again. A top-eight finish is all that is needed it seems.
Liverpool just need to make sure they are in the top eight and take it from there. But it all starts with a really interesting contest against Simeone's Atleti on Wednesday night.