Liverpool and Atletico kick off their 2025-26 Champions League campaigns with a blockbuster showdown at Anfield.
Who: Liverpool vs Atletico Madrid
What: UEFA Champions League
Where: Anfield, Liverpool, United Kingdom
When: Wednesday, September 17 at 9pm (19:00 GMT)
How to follow: We’ll have all the build-up on Al Jazeera Sport from 6pm (16:00 GMT) in advance of our live text commentary stream.
UEFA Champions League openers don’t come much bigger than mega club Liverpool pitted against Spain’s powerhouse outfit, Atletico Madrid.
The reigning English Premier League champions, who have started their new domestic campaign with a perfect 4-0 record, will be looking to avenge their disappointing round-of-16 exit from last season’s Champions League, where they lost a heartbreaking penalty shootout to eventual title-winners PSG.
Atletico, who finished a strong third position in last season’s La Liga behind Barcelona and Real Madrid, are the only team in history to reach three Champions League finals without having won the trophy – a record they want to put to rest by going one better this season.
Here is all to know about the matchday 1 fixture:
Liverpool fans were denied the chance to watch British record signing Alexander Isak in action as he was left out of the match-day squad for Sunday’s 1-0 victory at Burnley, but manager Arne Slot said they will not have to wait long.
Slot confirmed the Swedish forward, signed on deadline day for 125 million pounds ($169.45m) from Newcastle United, was still not up to speed after playing barely any minutes this season due to injury.
But the Dutchman hinted he is likely to play some part against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.
“Alex is far from ready for that schedule of three games in a week,” Slot told reporters after his side’s last-gasp Premier League victory at Turf Moor, secured by a Mohamed Salah penalty.
“So now he will be able either Wednesday [against Atletico] or Saturday to play 45 as a minimum, and maybe a little bit more. But if he plays 45 on Wednesday, don’t expect him to play 45 or more on Saturday because his body is not prepared for that.”
Isak’s only football action so far this season was a 20-minute cameo off the bench for Sweden, in a 2-0 defeat by Kosovo in a World Cup qualifier last week.
The Madrid giants have struggled out of the gate in the current 2025-26 season and are currently 11th on the Spanish division one table.
Los Colchoneros lost their season-opener 2-1 to a vastly improved Espanyol side on August 17 and then suffered an embarrassing 1-1 home draw to newly relegated Elche.
Another draw followed at Alaves a week later, but Atletico’s season now appears to be turning around after a 2-0 defeat of Villareal on Saturday and the recent signing of talented Argentinian forward Nicolas Gonzalez, who scored a game-winning goal on debut.
The sides last met on November 3, 2021, at Anfield, with Liverpool winning their return Champions League group stage fixture against Atletico Madrid 2-0.
The late Diogo Jota and Sadio Mane gave the hosts a two-goal cushion within the first 20 minutes of the contest.
When Atletico’s Felipe was sent off in the 36th minute for an errant tackle on Mane, the Reds held their advantage to the final whistle and secured a spot in the last-16 of the tournament.
Arne Slot’s side are aiming to win the competition for the first time since 2019.
Isak may make his long-awaited Liverpool debut, but is unlikely to be in the starting XI.
Alexis Mac Allister, who only played a half game against Burnley after being on the receiving end of a crunching challenge from Lesley Ugochukwu, is a game-time decision as to whether he starts against Atletico.
England international Curtis Jones is out with an unspecified injury. Dominik Szoboszlai is most likely to move forward into Jones’s defensive midfield role with Jeremie Frimpong entering the starting XI.
Atletico’s 2-0 win against Villareal on Saturday extracted a high toll on Diego Simeone’s squad, with no fewer than four players forced off with injury: Julian Alvarez, Gonzalez, Robin Le Normand and David Hancko.
While Gonzalez and Le Normand are probable inclusions in the starting XI, Alvarez has been left out of the squad, according to reporting by ESPN late on Tuesday.
Hancko’s injury – a high-grade ankle sprain suffered just minutes after he entered the Villareal match as a substitute – makes his participation against Liverpool highly unlikely.
Jose Gimenez is also questionable with a calf strain ahead of Wednesday’s fixture.
High-profile off-season signings Alex Baena and Thiago Almada will not suit up against Liverpool.
Liverpool: Alisson Becker (goalkeeper); Frimpong, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Szoboszlai; Salah, Wirtz, Gakpo; Ekitike
Atletico Madrid: Oblak (goalkeeper); Llorente, Le Normand, Lenglet, Ruggeri; Barrios, Koke; Simeone, Griezmann, Gonzalez; Alvarez
Liverpool and Atletico Madrid have played each other six times, with each side winning twice.
Liverpool: L-W-W-W-W (most recent result last)
Atletico Madrid: W-L-D-D-W
