Liverpool vs Atletico Madrid Predictions & Tips

After a 3-2 home defeat to Liverpool last month, Atletico Madrid have their work cut out to wrestle back top spot in this group. The Spanish side trail them by five points heading into Wednesday’s meeting at Anfield.

Liverpool have the chance to wrap up qualification and possibly even first place this week. A win for the Reds would put them out of reach of Atletico, while Porto have a tough clash of their own away to AC Milan. However, Atleti have caused Liverpool plenty of problems in the past.

Atletico to cause problems

The Spanish champions have lost just once in their last six away trips to face English opponents in European competition (W2 D3) and they are unbeaten in their last two visits to Anfield. They also put up a real fight in the Wanda Metropolitano last time around, fighting back from 2-0 down to get level before having Antoine Griezmann sent off and conceding a late winner.

Atletico may have lost that one, but it continued their scoring streak. The visitors have found the net at least twice in each of their last six matches, including a brilliant 3-0 win over Real Betis at the weekend. Given how the hosts fared at Anfield on Saturday, that scoring streak could continue.

Defensive issues for Reds

There’s little question about Liverpool’s attacking talents, especially after they raced into the lead against Brighton at the weekend. It took them only 24 minutes to score twice – the 12th successive game in which they’ve scored at least two.

They’ve obviously been inspired on that run by Mohamed Salah, who has scored 13 times in his last 10 Liverpool games. The forward has scored 13 goals in 20 Champions League appearances at Anfield, one shy of Steven Gerrard’s record. With five goals in three group games, back him to score again on Wednesday.

However, the Reds threw away that lead against Brighton – the second time they’ve done that in four games. They’ve scored 11 goals in three Champions League games this season, but they’re yet to keep a clean sheet. Back that run to continue with both teams to score looking like great value, while the scoring streak for both sides points to a 2-2 draw given Atletico’s record in England.