Julian Alvarez among five standout absentees as Atletico confirm squad list for Liverpool clash | OneFootball

Atletico Madrid have confirmed a 22-player matchday squad for their Champions League fixture against Liverpool on Wednesday night, and there are some standout absentees.

The LaLiga outfit come to Anfield for the third time in six seasons, having lost 2-0 on their most recent visit in the 2021/22 group stage but eliminated the Reds from the competition in the round of 16 in March 2020.

Diego Simeone’s side were handed an injury scare at the weekend as Julian Alvarez was substituted at half-time in their 2-0 victory against Villarreal, which cast doubt over his involvement for their European opener on Merseyside.

Atletico confirm matchday squad for Liverpool clash

On Tuesday morning, Atletico confirmed on their official English language X profile that the Argentina striker isn’t among their 22-player squad to take on Liverpool tomorrow night.

Jose Maria Gimenez, Johnny Cardoso, Thiago Almada and Alex Baena are also absent for Los Rojiblancos, although David Hancko, Robin Le Normand and Nico Gonzalez have been included despite concerns in the weekend win over Villarreal.

(Photo by Daniel Jayo/Getty Images)

Atletico could still be potent despite Alvarez absence

Having scored 29 goals in 54 games for Atletico last season, the ex-Manchester City striker will obviously be a major loss for Simeone’s side against Liverpool, who Opta’s win prediction model has calculated as the likeliest winner of the 2025/26 Champions League.

Although the visitors will obviously miss the 25-year-old, they still have a dangerous attack in Antoine Griezmann and Alexander Sorloth, who netted 41 goals between them last term and will surely keep Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate on their toes.

Thankfully the Reds have almost a fully clean bill of health for tomorrow’s match, with Curtis Jones and Stefan Bajcetic the only players currently sidelined and Alexis Mac Allister hinting that he should be fine despite his knock in the win over Burnley at the weekend.

Arne Slot is set to provide a more detailed update when he speaks to the media later this afternoon, and hopefully there won’t be any late concerns for Liverpool as they commence their Champions League campaign.

While Alvarez’s absence in particular will be a blow for Atletico, we never like to see players laid low by injury, and we wish the Argentine a swift recovery.

You can view the full Atletico Madrid squad list for the Liverpool game below, via @atletienglish on X: