Liverpool vs Atletico Madrid Betting Pick | Champions League

Champions League

2021-11-03 - Liverpool vs Atletico Madrid

A Sports Betting Pick by Auls

Liverpool v Atletico Madrid
Football: European Champions League Group Stage
Wednesday 3rd November 2021 - Kick Off 8pm
This game is live on TV

Liverpool

Clubs in England know how busy the calendar gets once they get past the November international break and that is particularly the case for a team like Liverpool who have progressed to the League Cup Quarter Final. The squad is going to be utilised to maximise performance, but Liverpool can do themselves a big favour by winning their Champions League Group before we get down to Match Day 6.

A battling win in the Spanish capital a couple of weeks ago means Liverpool have won all three Group games and they have a healthy 5 point lead at the top of the section. Depending on what happens in the other game in the Group being played earlier in the day, Liverpool might only need one win to secure top spot in the section and that is the focus for the manager and the squad. The Reds beat Milan 3-2 here earlier in the Group and Liverpool have won 4 of their last 5 Champions League games at Anfield.

Liverpool blew a 2-0 lead in their 2-2 draw with Brighton this weekend and that result ended their 4 game winning run in all competitions. It does mean that 3 of the last 5 at Anfield have ended in draws, while Liverpool have conceded at least two goals in 3 of their last 4 games in front of their own fans in all competitions.

Naby Keita and James Milner are expected to miss out, but Liverpool will be hoping that Fabinho and Thiago are able to be selected. Changes may be made with the game at West Ham United in mind, but Liverpool will be picking a strong team against their biggest rival in the Group.

Atletico Madrid

The defending Spanish Champions have had a slightly inconsistent start to the season and Diego Simeone's men have work to do if they are going to find a way through this Champions League Group. They have twice reached the Champions League Final under their current manager, but Atletico Madrid have only reached a single Quarter Final in four seasons and they are going to need some big results if they are going to make the Knock Out Round.

Home form is so important in the Champions League Group Stage, but Atletico Madrid have only picked up a single point from two games in front of their own fans. A win in Milan has Atletico Madrid in 2nd place in this Group, but both Porto and Milan are going to push them for a place in the Last 16 and especially if the Spanish Champions lose here. The side are unbeaten in 3 away Champions League games.

Atletico Madrid have lost 1 of their last 6 games in all competitions, but they had failed to win any of 3 before the comfortable victory over Real Betis. They have won 4 of their last 6 away games in all competitions and Atletico Madrid have scored at least two goals in 5 of those fixtures on their travels.

There are a number of injury concerns in the Atletico Madrid squad and they look to be missing some key players. Stefan Savic and Antoine Griezmann are definitely absent as they serve suspensions.

Head to Head

Two weeks ago Atletico Madrid came back from 0-2 down, but they were still eventually beaten 2-3.

These clubs last met at Anfield in the 2019/20 Champions League Last 16 and it was the last game Liverpool played in front of fans before the Covid-19 pandemic shut down the sport. On that day Liverpool won in normal time, but a big effort from Atletico Madrid saw them move through to the Quarter Final in Extra Time.

Liverpool have won their last 2 home games against Atletico Madrid in normal time.

Prediction

There have been plenty of positives for both Liverpool and Atletico Madrid to take into this Match Day 4 fixture, but both are also dealing with a relatively long injury list that makes the game a little tougher to call.

Midfield problems reared up for Liverpool in their 2-2 draw with Brighton last time out, but they continue to produce a big threat going forward. In normal circumstances you would expect Atletico Madrid to cause plenty of problems, but they are missing some key attacking players and I do think they are vulnerable.

Those issues saw Levante create some big chances against Atletico Madrid in the last away game played by the Spanish Champions and Liverpool are certainly capable.

It is a big game for both clubs who will be looking to earn their Last 16 place in the Champions League as soon as possible, but Liverpool are at home and that should give them the edge. They have drawn 3 of their last 5 at Anfield and Liverpool are conceding plenty of goals here, but Atletico Madrid are going to be without the likes of Thomas Lemar and Antoine Griezmann, who scored twice in the Match Day 3 fixture, and I think Liverpool win a game featuring two or more goals.

The Statistics :

LIVERPOOL LAST SIX HOME FORM
	DATE	RESULT		OPPOSITION
	2021-09-15	W	3-2	H v Milan_AC
	2021-04-14	D	0-0	H v Real_Madrid
	2021-03-10	W	2-0	H v RB_Leipzig
	2020-12-01	W	1-0	H v Ajax
	2020-11-25	L	0-2	H v Atalanta
	2020-10-27	W	2-0	H v Midtjylland

ATLETICO_MADRID LAST SIX AWAY FORM
	DATE	RESULT		OPPOSITION
	2021-09-28	W	1-2	A v Milan_AC
	2021-03-17	L	2-0	A v Chelsea
	2020-12-09	W	0-2	A v Salzburg
	2020-11-03	D	1-1	A v Lokomotiv_Moscow
	2020-10-21	L	4-0	A v Bayern_Munchen
	2020-03-11	W	2-3	A v Liverpool