Champions League
2008-11-04 - Liverpool vs Atletico Madrid
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Liverpool
Liverpool will come into this match looking to bounce back from their first loss of the season at the weekend and will also hope to cement a place in the last 16 of the Champions League. Liverpool are 2nd in the English Premier League with a 8-2-1 record, scoring 16 goals and conceding 8. They have an impressive 4-1-0 record at Anfield, scoring 8 goals and conceding 4 in the League while also winning their first Champions League game here against PSV.
The Reds have a 2-1-0 record in their group in the Champions League this season with 6 goals scored and 3 conceded.
Liverpool lost last weekend which has ended their 16 game unbeaten run at the start of the season. They had won 7 of their previous 8 games before the start of the weekend and they have won 5 of their last 6 games at Anfield.
Fernando Torres is expected to start against his former club tonight after missing the last 5 games for Liverpool. Other than that, Liverpool are expected to play their strongest line up tonight.
Atletico Madrid
Madrid have started to make a move after their difficult start to the season. They have moved up to 6th in La Liga but have only managed to compile a 4-1-4 record this season with 19 goals scored and 16 conceded. Away from home this season, Atletico have a 1-1-2 record, scoring 8 goals and conceding 13.
The Champions League has provided a welcome break for Atletico this season and they also have a 2-1-0 record and they have scored 6 goals while conceding 2.
Atletico are unbeaten in their last 4 games since losing back to back games against Barcelona and local rivals Real Madrid. They come into this game with 2 wins behind them, both with clean sheets. Atletico have been inconsistant away from home but have conceded 10 goals in their last 2 away games in La Liga.
Javier Aguirre, Atletico's coach, is serving a touchline ban in this game. Gregory Coupet is back in the squad but is likely to have to take a place on the bench as Leo Franco played well enough at the weekend. Tomáš Ujfaluši and Giourkas Seitaridis are both out with injuries.
Head to Head
These 2 sides met on the last matchday where it ended 1-1 after Simao equalised for the Spanish side in the 83rd minute.
Prediction
Liverpool will want to book their place in the last 16 as soon as possible so they can continue to focus on their attempts to win the Premier League. The sooner they qualify will mean the sooner they can use their resources for their big Christmas period coming up.
Atletico have struggled defensively in away games recently and they will know this is a big ask for them. Their focus could potentially be on winning their next home game in the group against PSV which will secure a place in the next round.
Liverpool should come out firing and they are creating so many chances that I cant see anything but a home win here, especially if Torres returns as expected.
The Pick :
Liverpool 2-0 Atletico Madrid
BEST BETTING TIP :
Liverpool WIN
Gooner’s Statistical Value Bet
Liverpool - 1.25 AH
