OPINION: Atletico Madrid are the nightmare Champions League draw for Liverpool

The Champions League Round of 16 draw took place in Nyon on Monday morning, and Liverpool drew arguably their toughest possible opponents in Atletico Madrid.

The Spanish side are renowned for intensity, work-rate, organisation and defensive fortitude under Diego Simeone. The Reds share similar traits, yet there are plenty of stylistic differences between the two teams.

Atletico are currently experiencing a relatively rocky campaign in comparison to Liverpool's flawless Premier League exploits. Simeone's side are fifth in La Liga having suffered from too many draws on the whole.

The Spaniards have lost just twice which is bettered by only Real Madrid, but eight draws have been accumulated which is the joint-most in the division.

Offensively, Atletico have suffered at the hands of bad fortune and poor finishing. The team have been expected to score 25.4 based on Expected Goals (xG) which is the fourth-best in the Spanish top-flight, but they've actually found the net only 18 times. That's an underperformance of around seven goals.

Alvaro Morata is top scorer with six, but according to xG he should have bagged at least eight. Diego Costa, Vitolo and Joao Felix have all scored just twice. Antoine Griezmann was sold in the summer to Barcelona, and perhaps Simeone is suffering without his superior finishing ability.

Defensively, Atletico remain their usual stubborn selves.

4-4-2 is still Simeone's favoured formation, and despite the Spaniard's being portrayed as a declining force, they are still ultra-competitive by nature.

Only ten goals have been conceded by the team in La Liga which is the fewest, and that solidity is further reinforced by xG as Simeone's side have been expected to concede just 11.8 goals which is also the league's best.

Key figures such as Jan Oblak, Saul Niguez and Koke continue to represent the shirt at the Wanda Metropolitano, and those are supported by the likes of Thomas Partey, Jose Gimenez and Hector Herrera.

The side are industrious and impeccably well-drilled under Simeone, with matches tending to be extremely tight which is perhaps the opposite of what Liverpool desire.

Atletico have faced Barcelona, Real Madrid, Valencia, Bayer Leverkusen, Sevilla and Juventus twice this season, with no defeat suffered by a margin of more than one goal.

Two-legged ties are often decided by the slimmest of margins, and Simeone's team are the type to remain in the contest until the very end. For 180 minutes, proceedings will be finely balanced and on a knife's edge.

The excessive number of draws that have been amassed domestically by Atletico would not be as detrimental in European knockout competition.

Atletico's brand of football is founded upon soaking pressure, remaining compact and countering, and it's reasonable to suggest that they are the best around at executing such a game.

They will have to overcome their recent finishing struggles, but they have enough to at least present Liverpool with problems to solve beyond the usual.

Jurgen Klopp's side are perhaps the most complete in Europe at present. Despite Atletico being a difficult opponent, the Reds should have enough about their make-up to progress into the next round.

However, it's the simple prospect of the two teams being inseparable near the end of the two legs that will concern Klopp. Liverpool are used to advancing comfortably having gained a strong lead, but it's likely that Atletico will prevent that from happening.

If the current holders are able to ensure that Atletico are unable to take advantage of moments, set-pieces and counter-attacks, then it's likely that progression will be achieved, but expect plenty of risk management from both teams throughout.