Liverpool's Defence Under Pressure as Atlético Madrid Visit Anfield
Liverpool and Atlético Madrid meet again under the lights at Anfield on Wednesday, a rerun of last season’s breathless Matchday 1 clash that finished 3-2 to the Reds. This time, the mood is different. The home side look fragile. Atlético smell an opportunity.
Liverpool still a work in progress
Andoni Iraola’s Liverpool have stumbled through the opening weeks. Five points from three Premier League games is respectable on paper, but the details tell another story. They shipped two goals in each of their first two league outings and are still searching for defensive balance.
Ronald Araújo has been pushed into right-back duty with Conor Bradley and Giovanni Leoni sidelined. The back line remains a patchwork, not a finished product. That uncertainty is exactly what Diego Simeone’s side will target.
There are positives. A 2-0 win away at Ipswich last time out steadied nerves and sharpened belief. Alexander Isak took centre stage at Portman Road, scoring twice in nine ruthless minutes. The Swedish forward now has three goals in three league games and, crucially, looks over the injuries that blunted his debut campaign, when he managed just four in 22 appearances.
Iraola is still without Hugo Ekitike, Bradley and Leoni, while Federico Chiesa and Wataru Endo are unavailable for Champions League duty after missing out on registration. The squad is competitive, but not complete.
A likely Liverpool XI: Alisson; Kerkez, Araújo, Jacquet, van Dijk; Szoboszlai, Mac Allister, Barcola; Wirtz, Gakpo, Isak.
Atlético arrive wounded – and dangerous
Atlético make the trip to Merseyside still stinging from a 3-0 defeat at Athletic Bilbao. Even so, they sit sixth in La Liga with seven points from four games, and Simeone knows how to turn damage into defiance.
This visit will carry a familiar edge. Atlético won 3-2 at Anfield in the 2019/20 campaign and clawed their way back from 2-0 down here last season. They are not intimidated by the Kop or the noise. If anything, they feed off it.
Simeone is ready to hand Julián Álvarez his first start of the season, a significant boost to an attack that has already scored seven times in its last four league matches. At the back, Cristian Romero is pushing for his first start since arriving at the club, adding bite and aggression to a defence that was torn apart in Bilbao.
Alexander Sorloth (thigh) and Arnau Ortiz (suspension) are out of the midweek tie, trimming Simeone’s options but not his ambition.
Atlético’s expected lineup: Oblak; Llorente, Romero, Hancko, Grimaldo; Giuliano Simeone, Barrios, Hjulmand, Lookman; Baena, Álvarez.
Can Atlético crack Liverpool again?
The numbers say Liverpool are vulnerable. Four goals conceded in their first two league games, both ending in draws, underline how unsettled Iraola’s back line remains. Araújo out of position, new partnerships still forming, and a system that invites pressure if the press is even slightly off.
Atlético are built to punish exactly that. Compact shape, quick transitions, and a manager who relishes turning chaos into control. They have never won a league phase match against English opposition, but their record at Anfield is enough to unsettle any home supporter.
Market odds suggest a 46.5% chance of Atlético avoiding defeat. On recent evidence, that feels generous to Liverpool. A draw or better for the visitors would surprise nobody inside the ground.
Isak’s hot streak meets an unsettled back line
Up front, Isak is the sharpest weapon Iraola has right now. Three goals in three league games, all assisted by Cody Gakpo, tell the story of a partnership that is starting to click. His two-goal burst at Ipswich showed a striker playing with conviction, not hesitation.
His European record is modest – one goal in 13 Champions League appearances – but form matters. Atlético’s defence, still reeling from conceding three at Bilbao, faces a forward in rhythm and a supply line building confidence.
With Gakpo drifting intelligently and Florian Wirtz knitting attacks together between the lines, Isak will fancy his chances of extending this run, even against Jan Oblak.
A cagey battle in store?
For all Liverpool’s attacking names, chance creation has been their biggest problem. They rank 19th in the Premier League for big chances created, with just four in three games. Brighton, by contrast, have carved out 15 in the same span.
That lack of incision is a concern against a Simeone team. Pablo Barrios and Morten Hjulmand will sit in front of the Atlético defence, closing off the pockets where Wirtz likes to operate. Behind them, Oblak remains one of the most reliable goalkeepers in Europe.
Simeone will not mind if Anfield groans through a slow, narrow contest. He will welcome it. His side still carry a threat of their own, especially with Álvarez returning to the starting XI, but they are just as happy to drag the game into a grind.
A tight scoreline feels likely. The prediction on paper? Liverpool 1-1 Atlético Madrid, with Isak and Álvarez on the scoresheet.
If that script holds, Liverpool’s season will not be defined by the noise or the nostalgia of Anfield on a Champions League night, but by a harder question: can Iraola turn this team from fragile and fascinating into truly formidable before Europe’s margins catch up with them?
