Liverpool could draw one of five sides in the Champions League play-offs on Friday morning, after Wednesday night’s deciding qualifiers.
The Reds are set for a two-legged play-off clash in mid-August, with their opponent to be decided by a draw on BT Sport 3 at 11am (BST) on Friday.
With Jurgen Klopp‘s side seeded for the draw, they are set for a favourable tie, though there are still a host of formidable sides among the potential five.
Those are OGC Nice, Hoffenheim, Young Boys, Steaua Bucuresti, and Istanbul Basaksehir.
A clash with Nice would provide a reunion with ex-Reds striker Mario Balotelli, while Roberto Firmino could come up against his former side in Hoffenheim.
Klopp will be desperate to lead his side into the Champions League proper, after a gruelling campaign in 2016/17 that saw Liverpool finish fourth in the Premier League.
Speaking after Liverpool’s penalty shootout defeat to Atletico Madrid in the Audi Cup on Wednesday, Klopp described the experience as “very important” to next season’s European hopes.
“You’re playing at the top level. It’s very important how you’re prepared, what state of mind you’re in,” he explained.
“If you want to win obviously you want to have smaller opponent, but we played Bayern yesterday [and won 3-0] and we can play much better.
“We want to make life as difficult as possible for our opponents.”
The Reds will likely head into their play-off as favourites, but there is still pressure on Klopp’s side to progress to Europe’s elite, and the German will be eager to stress that.
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