Twitter-Atletico de Madrid
The defending Champions of Europe, Liverpool will be travelling to the Metropolitano as they face Atletico Madrid for the first leg of their Round-of-16 tie. Though Jurgen Klopp’s men are inching close to their first league title of 30 years, the reds will be eager to go the distance as Europe’s elite for the second time running.
Atletico Madrid on the other end has been struggling to string positive results and have won one game from the last seven. Having said that, Diego Simeone is season campaign in the European competition as well and will make things hard for Liverpool under lights with his resilient defence and quick counter-attacking display.
Match Details
Date- Wednesday, February 19
Kick-Off- 1:30 AM (IST)
Venue- Metropolitano Stadium
Atletico Madrid
Kieran Trippier and Hector Herrera are ruled out for the first leg due to injury. However, the bigger concern is over the availability of Joao Felix, Diego Costa and Alvaro Morata who will be assessed prior to the game. Having said that, Angel Correa should once again be featuring in the forward line. Yannick Carrasco is back to Atletico Madrid and could be accommodating midfield, alongside, Koke, Thomas Partey and Saul Niguez.
Liverpool
Xherdan Shaqiri is the only player who remains on the sidelines for Jugen Klopp due to injury. Fabinho and Sadio Mane were part of the 1-0 win against Norwich after coming off the bench and should be in the starting lineup for the away side. Alex Oxlade Chamberlain and Naby Keita are likely to be benched while the rest of the team remains the same.
ATL (Expected Playing 11)- Oblak; Lodi, Felipe, Savic, Arias; Niguez, Koke, Partey, Carrasco; Vitolo, Correa
LIV (Expected Playing 11)- Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, V Dijk, J Gomez, Robertson; Henderson, Fabinho, Wijnaldum; Salah, Firmino, Mane
Angel Correa will have the onus of being in charge of the attack in the absence of a few first-team players for Atletico Madrid. Correa has four goals, five assists and a pass accuracy of 75.6% from 1244 minutes in La Liga this season.
Mohamed Salah has been pivotal for Liverpool on the attacking front in the ongoing campaign. The 27-year-old has four goals and two assists with a pass accuracy of 75.4% from six appearances in the Champions League this season.
Though it’s been a long time since Yannick Carrasco featured in the Champions League. The Belgium international has proved it in the past that he has the quality to make an impact for Atletico Madrid.
Sadio Mane has been one of the mainstays upfront for Liverpool. Mane has two goals and an assist with a pass accuracy of 84% from 466 minutes in the Champions League this season.
From the last six encounters between the two sides, it’s Atletico Madrid who has had the upper hand with three wins in contrast to Liverpool’s one win. Two games have ended on level terms.
The fixture is anticipated to be a cagey affair. Having said that, Liverpool might just be able to nick a win, considering Atletico will be without their key players.
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