Analysis: Who Are Liverpool's 26/27 UEFA Champions League Opponents?

The draw for the UEFA Champions League took place nearly two weeks ago, and Liverpool were given the eight different teams that they will face in this season's league stage of the competition. Now, while some of the teams are household names, such as Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan, other teams some may know very little about. Here is a full preview of all of the teams the club will face in the league stage: Atletico Madrid (Home) The first game of the UCL campaign will be against Spanish side Atletico Madrid. They remain managed by long-time manager Diego Simeone and have been a dangerous team to face under his guidance. Known for his animated nature on the touchline, Simeone is brilliant at getting his players fired up and motivated for games, especially major games like Liverpool. Atletico have a number of key players who can cause LFC issues all over the pitch. Forward Julian Alvarez, despite wanting to leave the club for fellow Spanish Giants Barcelona, he remained a Atletico Madrid player, and is likely to feature in some way against the Reds. Alex Baena is another player who has had a great start to the league season for Atletico following his summer World Cup triumph with Spain. LASK (Away) On to the first away game of the UCL, and it is over in Austria for Andoni Iraola's side as they take on Austrian league champions LASK. This may seem like one of the easier games for the Merseyside club, but do not underestimate LASK, especially at their home ground. Their stadium may only hold 19,000, but they make it a very intimidating place to go, as Celtic found out when they went over there for their second-leg game against them in the final Champions League Qualification game. The Scottish League champions had a 3-0 advantage going into that game and crumbled under the pressure, allowing LASK to stage a comeback and win the game 5-4 on aggregate. Playing in a 3-4-3 formation, a system the Reds have found difficult to beat when facing Oliver Glasner's sides in the Premier League, LASK could prove a tricky test for the Anfield-based side. Villarreal (Home) Next up are Spanish side Villarreal, regular qualifiers for the Champions League. They finished 3rd in LA Liga last season, ahead of Atletico Madrid. The Yellow Submarine have had a difficult start to this season, failing to win any of their first four games of the season, but they have a number of recognisable names within their squad. Former Premier League player Ayoze Perez and Nicolas Pepe are both prominent in this team, with highly rated 22-year-old winger Alberto Moleiro also a player to watch out for. Fenerbahce (Away) An away game in Turkey is also a tough outing for any side, and as LFC experienced last season under Arne Slot against Galatasaray, the hostile atmosphere can certainly have an impact on the players on the pitch. The Turkish league runners-up last season qualified for the Champions League after beating Ligue 1 side Lyon over two legs, 3-2. This season in the league, they have had a mixed start to the campaign with two wins and two losses, but with a number of ex-Premier League stars in their ranks, they have moments of real quality within the team. Players like N'Golo Kante, Nathan Ake, Ederson and Romelu Lukaku all play for the Turkish Giants, and if they all play at their best, Fenerbahce could make serious inroads in this competition. Club Brugge (Away) One of last seasons stand out teams in the Champions League was Club Brugge. The Belgian side pulled off major upsets against top opposition, such as a draw against Barcelona and wins against Monaco and Marseille. They also went toe-to-toe with Atletico Madrid in the play-offs last campaign, with them drawing 3-3 at home, before Atletico would go on to beat them in the second leg. In terms of personnel, they have a mix of experience such as midfielder Hans Vanaken and Brandon Mechele, as well as some promising young talent in striker Nicolo Tresoldi and winger Mamadou Diakhon. FC Porto (Home) Current Portuguese league champions FC Porto are a side that LFC have become quite familiar with over the last few years. In the last eight years, the Reds have played Porto seven times and have only failed to win one of those meetings. It could also be argued that this Porto side is one of the strongest in years, with top-quality players across the starting XI. Striker Andre Silva. Portugal number one goalkeeper Diogo Costa, former Arsenal defender Jakub Kiwior, and ex-AC Milan striker Santiago Gimenez are all part of this Porto squad. And after a league-winning campaign under manager Francesco Farioli, they will have aims of reaching the latter stages of the UCL this season. Inter Milan (Away) Another side that was faced last season, Inter Milan has serious European pedigree, winning three Champions Leagues in their history. The reigning champions of Italy go into this campaign after a summer window of activity, bringing in Premier League stalwart John Stones, standout England star Djed Spence, and former Liverpool player Curtis Jones. Meaning, understandably, this fixture will be heavily centered around the Scouse midfielder playing against his boyhood side, but with established players like Lautaro Martinez, Nicolo Barella and Manuel Akanji, this will likely be Andoni Iraola's toughest test at the San Siro. Lens (Home) The final game in the league stages will be at Anfield as Iraola's men take on Ligue 1 side Lens. The French side were runners-up in last season's Ligue 1 and finished just six points behind eventual champions and UCL winners PSG. Over the summer, they have lost a number of key personnel in that success, including manager Pierre Sage, who is now Crystal Palace boss. Liverpool will be hoping that top 8 qualification into the Round of 16 is secure by this point, and with huge games against Manchester United and Everton placed either side of this European fixture, Andoni Iraola will be hoping he can rest some of his key players against Lens.