Jurgen Klopp has joked that he wouldn't have wanted to be present when Diego Simeone told Luis Suarez he wouldn't start for Atletico Madrid.
The Spanish side host Liverpool in the third round of Champions League group games, looking to back up their success in 2020.
Simeone masterminded a last-16 victory over the Reds in March of last year and has since led Atletico to another LaLiga title.
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Suarez played a crucial role in that success having arrived from Barcelona, but has missed out on a starting berth on Tuesday night.
The former Red, who almost inspired them to the Premier League title in 2014, is known for his aggressive nature, and Klopp was surprised by his omission.
He joked: "I said already I would pay to be a part of that meeting when Diego told him [he was on the bench].
"Who knows, it’s like this, it’s a strong team they can change five times, we can change five times so hopefully the game is that intense that we use it, we need it, because then it’ll be a good one."
Joao Felix and Antoine Griezmann will instead start in attack for the Spanish side, who have four points from their two European games thus far.
Atletico were able to frustrate Liverpool when they last played, with Simeone responding to Klopp's criticism that night.
Upon seeing the host's XI the German claimed they would play "deep" and be "annoying".
He said: "Looks like [Atletico with 2 wing-backs] there’s no real left-back on the pitch but Carrasco played the wing pretty much the whole season I think, Trippier can play that position really well.
"Kondogbia probably the last line but he’s tall, physically strong, centre-mid usually he can play there for sure.
"But they will have help from all around because when we have the ball they will be deep and annoying and all that kind of things.
"But who cares? It’s not about us, Gimenez is on the bench, Suarez is on the bench. "
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Simeone's decision to leave the Uruguayan out came as a surprise, especially given he claimed Suarez returned to Madrid with "great enthusiasm" following his three-game international break.
The Atletico boss is also very aware of the challenge his side will face.
"I don't expect anything other than a team who will make things very difficult for us," said the Argentine.
"We will try and find a way to hurt them, we need to match their intensity and will look to create our own chances."
