Atletico Madrid v Liverpool: Champions League last 16 betting preview & free tip

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Atletico Madrid v Liverpool in the Champions League last 16.

Where to watch

BT Sport 2, 8pm Tuesday

Best bet

Liverpool to win & under 3.5 goals
1pt 9-5 Paddy Power
Back this tip with Paddy Power

Team news

Atletico Madrid
Diego Costa could return but Kieran Trippier and Joao Felix both miss out.

Liverpool
Sadio Mane returned to the side against Norwich on Saturday. Xherdan Shaqiri and Nathaniel Clyne are notable absentees.

Match preview

Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone is the highest-paid coach in world football according to L'Equipe and he has the opportunity to justify that status against European masters Liverpool in the last 16 of the Champions League.

The Argentinian manager, who reportedly scoops €43.6 million per year, will go into the game missing two key players but could be handed a boost by the return of another.

Diego Costa could make a surprise recovery from a neck injury but Kieran Trippier and Joao Felix are significant absentees for an Atletico side who have not exactly set La Liga alight this season.

While Liverpool are proving emphatically that they are the best team in the Premier League, Atletico are only the third-best side in the Spanish capital according to the domestic table, as city rivals Getafe and Real Madrid are both above them in the standings.

Of the teams who qualified for the Champions League last 16, no club netted fewer goals in the group stage than Los Rojiblancos' tally of eight and they are struggling to recover from last summer's exodus of star players.

Antoine Griezmann was a significant loss but they also said farewell to Diego Godin, Lucas Hernandez and Rodri, who made up a strong spine to the side.

A run of one win in their last six games in all competitions emphasises that Atletico are a shadow of the side who were once fancied to beat any club on the European stage.

They have fired three blanks in those six fixtures, which included a humiliating 2-1 defeat to third-tier outfit Cultural Leonesa.

Injuries have plagued Atletico all season long but the same cannot be said for Liverpool, quite remarkably given their hectic fixture pile-up.

Jurgen Klopp has close to a fully-fit squad at his disposal with Sadio Mane marking his return to the side with the winning goal against Norwich on Saturday – their 25th success in 26 league contests.

They navigated a tricky Group E at the end of last year, finishing above Napoli, Salzburg and Genk, and the squad has managed to compete across five competitions this season.

The Reds prevailed away to Bayern Munich and Porto in the knockout stage last term before a spectacular comeback win in their semi-final tie with Barcelona and a defeat of Tottenham in the final at Atletico Madrid's home, the Wanda Metropolitano.

They have no issues handling the big games psychologically and even a second-string Reds side probably carries more attacking threat than the Madrid club, who have scored only 25 goals in La Liga this term.

But for their injuries and poor form, Atletico are still solid at the back, with only Barcelona (16) shipping fewer league goals than the hosts (17), which suggests that backing a low-scoring Liverpool win could be the best punting approach.