Liverpool are on their travels in Europe tonight hoping to pick up a positive result in Spain.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has announced his team for tonight’s clash away to Atletico Madrid in the Champions League, as per the club’s official Twitter account.
The full match squad is as follows:
Starting XI – Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson, Fabinho, Henderson, Wijnaldum, Mane, Salah, Firmino.
Substitutes – Adrian, Milner, Keita, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Minamino, Origi, Matip.
Tonight’s encounter is a change of pace for Klopp and his team, who have been so focused on Premier League action over the last couple of months.
With the title race all but over, Liverpool can really put a focus into defending their Champions League crown but know that tonight’s La Liga opponents pose a serious and stiff test.
Under Diego Simeone, Atletico have never lost a match at home in the knockout stages of the competition, winning eight times and drawing the other four.
The fact they have only ever conceded two goals in that 12 game run demonstrates the scale of Liverpool’s task tonight.
As quoted by the BBC, Klopp said of the encounter: “They are a really well organised, well oiled machine who are amazing at squeezing results. They are in a transition period, that’s normal, but they are fighting with all they have. It’s really difficult.
“They’re a results machine. They have speed, aggression and a clear philosophy. I know we are in the country of tiki-taka, but I admire things like that. For me, it’s all fine.”
Still, in such fine form, the Reds won’t be travelling anywhere this season with fear. They have more than enough weaponry to score at any ground.
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Klopp has been able to name an incredibly strong lineup tonight.
With stars such as Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah in the attack, they’ll always have a chance of picking up a positive result
There’s a place in the quarter-finals up for grabs and it’s set to be a fascinating evening, with kick-off coming at 8pm UK time.
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