Liverpool are hoping to continue to build into the season as they lock horns with Atletico Madrid at Anfield in the Champions League this week.
The Reds are growing into the campaign as they have five points from three games. An opening weekend 2-2 draw with Newcastle was followed by a 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest at Anfield a week later.
Then, this past weekend weekend, Liverpool cruised to a 2-0 win away at Ipswich Town in dominant fashion. A brace from Alexander Isak sealed the three points in what was a professional performance from the Reds.
After a slow start to the campaign, Isak now has three goals in his last two games for Liverpool and is showing a long overdue promise that has been thus far absent from his short Liverpool career.
Since reaching the final of the Champions League in 2022, Liverpool have largely underperformed in the competition, with two round of 16 exits and two quarter-final exits. Last season, Liverpool were knocked out by PSG 4-0 on aggregate.
The Reds have faced Atlético Madrid regularly in this competition in recent seasons and they have a good record against their Spanish counterparts, winning all of the last three head-to-head meetings - including a 3-2 win last season.
Atlético Madrid, meanwhile, have had a mixed start to the campaign, winning two, drawing one and losing one of their four league games.
They claimed solid wins over Malaga (2-0) and Sevilla (3-1) with a 2-2 draw against Villarreal in between. However, they were subjected to a crushing 3-0 defeat away at Athletic Bilbao at the weekend, a damning defeat for Diego Simeone's men.
Atletico aren't the strongest away from home, winning only four of their last 15 competitive games on the road, losing nine of those, making a trip to Anfield a daunting task.
We do, then, fancy Andoni Iraola's side to get their Champions League campaign off to a good start in front of their own fans with victory.
Liverpool 2-1 Atlético Madrid
