Jurgen Klopp has labelled Atalanta as a team to beat in the Champions League as his side prepares to face the Italians on Tuesday night.

Liverpool top the Group D table with six points, having won their two Group games against Ajax and FC Midtjylland. They travel to the Atleti Azzuri d’Itala stadium to play the toughest opponents in the group.

The manager likened the Nerazzurri to Leeds United in the Premier League, a resilient side tough to come against with. The Reds enter into the game without their versatile Van Dijk and Fabinho. Although Naby Kieta and Gomez have started training yet the Liverpool manager says he’ll have to make late decisions with their involvement.

"We lost to Aston Villa but found our feet and got over the setbacks in the league with injuries, " said Klopp,” he said at the pre-match.

"We are in a situation that we have to deal with. It is really early in the season, so I do not think too much about where we stand in the different competitions. The next game is, for sure, the biggest challenge in the Champions League.

"With all Atalanta have done in the last few years, they are a settled team and they are very difficult to play against. They are similar to Leeds in the way they set-up."

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Atalanta qualified for their first Champions League last season and impressed following with quarter-final 2-1 elimination by PSG in Portugal. They won their first Group game against the Danes by 4-0 and came from 2-0 down to draw with Ajax at home. Klopp praised their impact in the tournament last season and their impression so far in the game.

“They obviously have in the team a really good atmosphere in general, a good mood and they are a proper fighting unit. So I was not surprised last year. Of course, I didn’t know too much about Atalanta before the [last] season started but I knew about the role they played in Italy, which was the qualification for the Champions League.

"But the last season was a good one as well. We know how difficult last season was for everybody, and for sure in Bergamo it was not easier; in the beginning, for sure more difficult. And they dealt with the situation.

"They have all our respect. I know how good they are. I actually enjoyed the analysis, I enjoyed watching them because it’s really interesting. How always in life, if you see something interesting you should try to learn a little bit of it. That’s what we always try but in this case, for sure it’s possible for us.”