MADRID, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- Barcelona and Atletico Madrid open their Champions League campaigns Wednesday, with Barcelona hosting Feyenoord and Atletico visiting Liverpool at Anfield.
Barcelona has started the season strongly, winning all four of its La Liga matches while scoring 17 goals and conceding just two. Hansi Flick's side continued that run with a 5-0 win over Valencia on Sunday.
With little recovery time and three more league matches scheduled over the next 12 days, Flick is expected to rotate his starting lineup.
New signing Gabriel Jesus could make an appearance, while young Belgian winger Jesse Bisiwu is also in contention for a debut from the bench. Flick may also look to manage Lamine Yamal's minutes during a demanding stretch of fixtures.
Atletico returns to Anfield a year after losing a thrilling 3-2 encounter at the same stage of the competition, when Virgil van Dijk scored a late winner for Liverpool.
Liverpool has made an inconsistent start to the season under new coach Andoni Iraola, and Atletico's pace on the counterattack could prove important.
Atletico lost 3-0 to Athletic Bilbao over the weekend, although Julian Alvarez's second-half appearance provided a positive for Diego Simeone. Alvarez came close to scoring, forcing a save from goalkeeper Unai Simon.
Simeone must decide whether to give Alvarez more playing time or hand new signing Jonathan David his debut. ■
