Can Atlético Madrid Upset Liverpool and Light a Fire Under $ATM?

Atlético Madrid commence their UCL campaign away to six-time European Cup winners Liverpool on Wednesday night (Sept. 9), and an upset win at Anfield could trigger gains for the club’s official Fan Token®.

Diego Simeone’s men come into the match off the back of a bruising 3-0 defeat by Athletic Club on Saturday, their first loss in four La Liga games and one that caused them to drop to sixth in the table.

So, how realistic are their prospects of an upset and how is the market viewing the match?

Why Atlético Could Topple Liverpool

Although suffering a 3-0 defeat is the worst possible preparation ahead of a daunting European awayday, there are reasons to believe Atlético Madrid could spring an upset at Anfield.

After all, Liverpool have won just one of their opening three Premier League matches, a 2-0 victory away at Ipswich Town on Friday (Sept. 4). Prior to that, the best Andoni Iraola’s men could manage was consecutive stalemates against Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United, coming from behind on each occasion.

The Reds did not have the best preseason, losing back-to-back friendlies at home to Leeds United and Monaco. Albeit preseason is not the best barometer of form given the tendency of managers to tinker with formations and players; Atlético Madrid also suffered consecutive defeats to Manchester United and Manchester City during their own preseason.

It is worth noting, incidentally, that while Liverpool won their last encounter – also in matchday one of the UCL last year – it came via a 92nd minute winner. And that in contrast to Diego Simeone, the longest-serving coach among all UCL clubs, Andoni Iraola has never managed a club competing in the Champions League.

In any case, Liverpool’s humdrum form should give Los Rojiblancos encouragement as they seek to bounce back from Saturday’s domestic defeat. Encouragingly, talisman Julián Alvarez has returned to the team after a summer of speculation about his future, although he has yet to crack the starting lineup.

Given how shaky Liverpool’s defence have looked of late, might Simeone unleash the Argentine from the start? In truth, both teams are vulnerable on transitions which could set the stage for an explosive, high-scoring clash.

Is an $ATM Breakout Imminent?

The spot price of the Atlético Madrid Fan Token® ($ATM) was as high as $1.27 at the start of the month, although it has since fallen to $1.15 (-9.4%). Reviewing the token over a longer time horizon, its value has dropped 41.9% since it hit $1.98 on August 13.

Given this steep fall, a big away victory in Europe against Liverpool could be all that’s needed to rally the $ATM bulls. Particularly if Alvarez can return to prominence by getting on the scoresheet. After all, the transfer tug-of-water over his future has already proved to be a lightning rod for trading activity.

Of course, this is the first of eight Champions League games for Atlético between now and January, so it can hardly be described as a must-win. That said, away victories are especially valuable given how competitive the 36-team league phase is, and a positive result (including a draw) against 18/19 champions Liverpool could set the tone for what follows.

Atlético’s remaining Champions League matches are against last year’s semifinalists Bayern Munich (home), Stuttgart (away), Manchester United (home), PSV (away), Fenerbahçe (home), Bodø/Glimt (away), and Viking (home).

Whatever happens in their mouthwatering clash against Liverpool, Simeone will be seeking to mastermind another deep run in the competition following Atlético’s advancement to the semifinals last time. 

Ronnie McCluskey: Fan Token® Market Reporter