Liverpool will be reunited with midfielder Curtis Jones after being handed a trip to San Siro to face Inter in the league phase of the Champions League.Andoni Iraola’s side will also entertain Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid, who were the other pot one opponent they were handed in Thursday’s draw.
The clash with Villarreal will see Iraola go up against his good friend Inigo Perez, who was previously his assistant at Rayo Vallecano. Perez wasn’t able to follow Iraola to Bournemouth in 2023 as he didn’t qualify for a work permit and subsequently embarked on a managerial career of his own.
Porto (home) and Club Brugge (away) will provide Liverpool’s opposition from pot two, Villarreal (home) and Fenerbahce (away) from pot three, with Lens (home) and LAK (away) from pot four.Facing Inter away and Atletico at home is a repeat of last season when Liverpool won both fixtures in the league phase. They last met Porto in the old group phase of the Champions League in 2021-22, beating them twice, before knocking out Villarreal in the semi-final.Liverpool are also familiar with Austrian outfit LASK having faced them in the Europa League in 2023-24 but they haven’t met Club Brugge since the 1978 European Cup final at Wembley which was settled by Kenny Dalglish’s iconic winner. It will be the first time they have taken on either Fenerbahce or Lens in a competitive fixture.The six-time winners were eliminated in the quarter-finals last season, going down 4-0 on aggregate to eventual winners Paris Saint-Germain. Arne Slot’s side beat Turkish club Galatasaray 4-1 on aggregate in the last-16, having eased through the initial league phase with six wins and two defeats.FixturesMatch order unconfirmed. Dates of matches to be announced laterWhich game most excites you?It’s got to be Inter away. They’re the champions of Italy and San Siro is iconic. Liverpool will have happy memories of their previous visit last December when Dominik Szoboszlai’s late penalty secured a hard-fought victory.Curtis Jones made 228 appearances for Liverpool before joining Inter (Jack Thomas/Getty Images)The presence of Jones in the Inter ranks adds another edge to the contest. It was only last week that the academy graduate said his goodbyes at the club’s Kirkby training base after securing a £30million move. The reunion will happen much quicker than Jones will have anticipated.Which game worries you?It will be interesting to see where Fenerbahce away falls in terms of the schedule. You don’t want a midweek trip to Istanbul a few days before a really challenging Premier League assignment.Liverpool struggled after facing Galatasaray away twice last season. After the first defeat in the league phase in September, they were beaten at Chelsea. After losing to the Turkish champions again in the first leg of the last 16 in March, they could only draw at home to a Tottenham Hotspur side in disarray.It’s not just about the travel, it’s the white-hot atmosphere in Istanbul which seems to inspire the hosts and intimidate opponents.What is Iraola’s biggest issue to confront in the tournament?This is uncharted territory for Iraola, who will be managing at Champions League level for the first time.For context, Iraola’s Bournemouth played 40 games in all competitions last season, while Liverpool had 57 – and they will hope to play even more this time around.The Basque coach will need to rotate his squad and tailor training accordingly given that the schedule is going to be a lot more intense. Getting that balance right between freshness and continuity isn’t going to be easy.Which team do Liverpool most want to avoid in the latter stages?It has to be Paris Saint-Germain.The back-to-back Champions League winners ended Liverpool’s hopes of glory in each of the last two seasons. If there was a degree of misfortune in 2024-25 when Slot’s side went out on penalties in the last 16, last season there was a sizeable gulf in quality as PSG won both legs 2-0 to advance to the last four.What would be considered a successful finish?The first priority for Iraola will be ensuring that Liverpool secure a top-eight finish in the league phase to ensure they go straight into the last 16 of the competition.They did that under Slot in each of the past two seasons and anything less this time around would be a major disappointment.Expectations have to be realistic given Liverpool are in transition following the dawn of a new era at Anfield. But with the 2027 final being played at Madrid’s Estadio Metropolitano, where Liverpool won the trophy under Jurgen Klopp in 2019, supporters will be dreaming of a return next June.Prediction time… how far will Liverpool get?It’s so tough to predict, especially with Liverpool still trying to strengthen their squad ahead of Tuesday’s transfer deadline.Bradley Barcola would add real quality to Liverpool’s front line if he completes a mooted transfer from PSG (CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP via Getty Images)The imminent signing of Bradley Barcola will certainly provide them with an exciting injection of quality up front, but there are other gaps that need filling. If they don’t bolster their midfield then it’s hard to see them being serious contenders for the Champions League.They also need some luck when it comes to the draws – something they haven’t had in recent years. I fancy Liverpool to get to the quarter-finals in Iraola’s first Champions League adventure. Anything beyond that would be a real bonus.Aug 27, 2026Connections: Sports EditionSpot the pattern. Connect the termsFind the hidden link between sports terms
