Liverpool will hope to overturn a 1-0 first-leg loss when they host Atletico Madrid at Anfield on Wednesday night in the UEFA Champions League last 16. The Reds will come into this contest with some momentum under their belt after grinding out a 2-1 win over Bournemouth yesterday. However, the Merseyside giants have been far from convincing with their performances after the mid-season break. It is not going to be easy for them to complete the turnaround to secure progression into the quarter-final stage of the competition.
Jurgen Klopp will stick with his favoured 4-3-3 formation for this season-defining showdown versus Diego Simeone’s men in midweek.
4-3-3 Liverpool Predicted Lineup Vs Atletico Madrid
Defence
Alisson Becker is out of this game due to a muscle injury. Hence, Adrian is expected to continue in between the sticks for the European champions despite conceding three goals in his past two starts across all competitions. Joe Gomez will feature alongside Virgil Van Dijk at the heart of the Liverpool defence as they look to keep things tidy at the back in front of their home supporters.
Andrew Robertson was given a rest on Saturday, and so he would be a nailed-on starter in the left-back position. Trent Alexander-Arnold will focus on delivering some quality crosses while operating as the right-back. Klopp will instruct both his full-backs to stretch the pitch and join in on the attack so that they can enable the front players to flood the Atletico penalty box in numbers and force the away team into making errors throughout the 90 minutes.
Both Joel Matip and James Milner will have to be content with a place on the bench but could be required at some stage during the game if Klopp calls upon their services.
Midfield
Klopp will be inclined to name the same midfield three that have started versus the Cherries on Saturday. So we can expect Fabinho to operate as a holding midfielder. At the same time, Georginio Wijnaldum and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will play just ahead of the Brazilian as they focus on working their socks off to establish Liverpool’s dominance at the centre of the park.
Adam Lallana will be available for selection on the bench. He might get a chance to come on and make an impact if required. However, Jordan Henderson will be a significant concern for this match and Klopp will have to wait until the last possible minute to decide whether to start his captain in this crucial Champions League second leg against Atletico.
Attack
Sadio Mane will once again line up on the left-wing while Mohamed Salah tries to use his pace to good effect on the right side of Klopp’s front three. Roberto Firmino will get another opportunity to lead the charge down the middle. All three front players will have to carry most of the goal-scoring workload up top.
Divock Origi and Takumi Minamino could be used as impact substitutes on Wednesday, but they will be low on confidence as neither of them has managed to find the back of the net in recent weeks.
