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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Sport
Connor Dunn

Atletico Madrid's big problem needs solving before they face Liverpool in Champions League last 16

Liverpool are heading back to the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium to face Atletico Madrid in the Champions League round of 16 .

It is the place where the Reds beat Tottenham 2-0 to claim the club's sixth European Cup last term and so undoubtedly the travelling Kop will be set for a big party in the Spanish capital come February next year .

And while the atmosphere inside the stadium will be bouncing and fans will be undoubtedly looking forward to going back there, they face a very different opponent in Atletico Madrid than they did last time they were there playing Spurs.

The La Liga giants have faced some difficulties this season and sit fifth in the league - six points behind leaders Barcelona and Real Madrid who both have a game in hand.

However, under the direction of Diego Simeone they are a side notorious for shutting teams out and again this season they have conceded fewer goals than any other team in La Liga with just 10 being shipped in 17 games.

Scoring though is a different story, as they have only managed to score 18 times across their league fixtures so far this term - a total bettered by all but five teams in the competition and even matched by the likes of 17th-placed Mallorca.

In the Champions League, Atletico Madrid finished in second in Group D having won three of their six matches and needing to beat Lokomotiv Moscow in their final game to guarantee qualification.

Diego Simeone reacts during the Spanish League football match between Club Atletico de Madrid and CA Osasuna, at the Wanda Metropolitano stadium in Madrid (Photo by CRISTINA QUICLER/AFP via Getty Images)

Simeone spent a huge amount of cash in the summer on transfers before the season got underway too, with the young star Joao Felix arriving for around £113million while defensive midfielder Marcos Llorente came in for £27m, centre-back Mario Hermoso cost £22.5m and former Tottenham defender Kieran Trippier, who played against Liverpool in the Champions League final, was bought for £20m.

They did however lose talisman Antoine Griezmann to Barcelona and so the period of change may be at fault for why the team aren't quite at the peak levels of European football this term.

While this may be the case, make no mistake this last-16 tie is a tricky one for the Reds.

Atletico are classically thought of as a team who won't mind setting up in a compact fashion to frustrate Jurgen Klopp's men and turn the match into a scrappy affair to try and secure qualification.

Liverpool, though, have faced a number of teams who set up in this fashion already this season and while some may not have the calibre of Atletico Madrid, the Reds have always found away to break the down and secure victory.

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