Matchweek 1 of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League league phase continues on Wednesday as Atletico Madrid heads to Anfield to take on Liverpool.
Liverpool is -205 favorites on DraftKings Sportsbook for this one. Atletico Madrid is +500 on the moneyline to pull off the away upset.
DraftKings is running a promotion in which you get your stake back as a bonus bet in three-way Moneyline bets if the game is a draw at the end of 90 minutes.
Liverpool Preview
Liverpool begins its Champions League campaign at Anfield against Atletico Madrid. Last season, Liverpool finished atop the Champions League Group Stage. It won each of its first seven Champions League matches, only losing its final Group Stage match, where it started backups having already secured the top seed. Despite being the best-performing team in the Group Stage, Liverpool lost to Paris Saint-Germain in the Round of 16 before going on to win the Premier League. This Liverpool side features a similar spine of Alisson Becker, Virgil van Dijk, Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister and Mo Salah, among others. However, it also has a group of new players, including Jeremie Frimpong, Milos Kerkez, Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak, who will play pivotal roles in this Champions League campaign. Liverpool has started its Premier League season strongly with four wins in four matches. This will be a big first match as it hopes to repeat its Champions League Group Stage performance from last season.
Atletico Madrid Preview
Atletico Madrid also had a strong 2024-25 Champions League Group Stage campaign. It finished fifth in the Champions League Group Stage standings, but just like Liverpool, it lost in the Round of 16 against Real Madrid. It has been a slow start to the 2025-26 La Liga season for Atletico Madrid. It currently sits 11th in the table and has struggled to score goals. It has scored just five goals in four matches. This is typical of manager Diego Simeone’s teams, who sit back and defend hard, waiting to jump on the chance to score counter-attacking goals. They have done well defending this season, allowing just four goals through four matches. However, their counter-attacking approach will be tougher to pull off with the absence of their star striker, Julian Alvarez. Alvarez, along with American midfielder Johnny Cardoso, will both be out for this first Champions League clash.
Liverpool vs. Atletico Madrid Pick
These two clubs have been two of the most successful teams in the Champions League over the past decade. Since 2014, these two teams have featured in five of the 11 Champions League Finals that have been played. Atletico Madrid made the final in both 2014 and 2016, but lost both. Liverpool won the 2019 Champions League Final and lost the 2018 and 2022 finals. Incredibly, Real Madrid was the team that won all four of the finals that Liverpool and Atletico Madrid lost. These two sides have faced each other four times since 2019. Atletico Madrid knocked Liverpool out of the 2019-20 Champions League by winning both legs in the Round of 16. In 2021-22, the clubs were in the same group, and Liverpool won both of its matchups.
My best bet for this match is under 2.5 goals. Atletico Madrid is already a defensive team, and without Julian Alvarez away at Anfield, that strategy will only be firmer. Liverpool just played a Premier League match against Burnley, where Burnley decided to sit in a low block and defend for 90 minutes. Liverpool struggled to break through that defensive block, only winning by getting a penalty in stoppage time to win 1-0. Diego Simeone will have studied that tape, and while Atletico Madrid should be slightly more aggressive than Burnley, it has no problem defending for 90 minutes. Each of Atletico Madrid’s past three La Liga matches have gone under 2.5 goals, and it should be a similar scoreline here.
