**Bradley Barcola** makes his first Liverpool start at the expense of **Cody Gakpo** and **Rio Ngumoha** comes in place of **Victor Munoz** as the Reds face **Atletico Madrid** on Matchday 1 of the **Champions League**.
Liverpool: Alisson, Van Dijk, Jacquet, Kerkez, Wirtz, Szoboszlai, Isak, Mac Allister, Barcola, Araujo, Ngumoha.
Subs: Mamardashvili, Woodman, Tsimikas, Munoz, Frimpong, Gravenberch, Nyoni, Chambers, McConnell, Koumas, Danns.
**Atletico XI:** Oblak, Llorente, Pubill, Romero, Hancko, Simeone, Barrios, Koke, Baena, Alvarez, Lee.
**Subs:** Musso, Vargas, Mendoza, Cardoso, Lookman, David, Grimaldo, Hjulmand, Le Normand, Dominguez, Martinez, Castillo.
I am surprised and disappointed that **Andoni Iraola** has decided to drop Gakpo, his best player so far this season, to the bench. [I put forth a plan](https://lfcglobe.co.uk/liverpool-vs-atletico-madrid-predicted-lineup-september-2026/) where they could both play and maybe the boss will do that in the future, but not today. I hope it works outÂ
Do you agree with the decision to bench Gakpo? Why or why not? Drop a comment below.
**Kick-off**
8:00 PM GMT
3:00 PM ET
3:00 PM ET
**TV Channel**
TNT Sports
Paramount + /TUDN (Spanish)
FUBO TV
**Live Stream**
HBO Max
Paramount+
FUBO TV