Thursday’s visit of Union SG provides Jurgen Klopp with another opportunity to rotate his side, but who will make the cut for this one?
Anfield welcomes back Europa League football for the first time since the semi-final win over Villarreal in 2016 with the Reds looking to maintain their perfect start in Group E.
The victory against LASK in the opener gave us an insight into how Klopp will approach team selection in this competition, but plenty of questions still remain.
Taking that into account, how could we see Liverpool shape up in this one?
Team news
Here’s what the boss told us as he previewed the clash:
- Cody Gakpo “won’t be available” having picked up an injury at Tottenham
- Union SG is a “completely different game” following the weekend’s drama
- No Stefan Bajcetic update, but he did not train with the squad on Wednesday
Liverpool’s XI vs. Union SG
There was little to be gleaned in terms of team news from Klopp’s pre-Union SG press conference, which was largely centred around the VAR controversy at Tottenham, unsurprisingly!
We can, however, expect to see further changes from the side that were cruelly beaten on Saturday night, with a trip to Brighton this Sunday looming on the horizon.
Curtis Jones‘ three-match ban means he is unable to feature in the next three league games, but the suspension does not apply in Europe and so Thursday represents a good opportunity to maintain sharpness.
It will be difficult for him to find a place in the midfield, however, with Endo, Harvey Elliott and Ryan Gravenberch having staked their claims for a regular spot in the new ‘midweek’ side.
Diogo Jota will miss the trip to Brighton as he serves a one-game ban of his own and will therefore almost certainly start on Thursday night with the international break on the horizon.
This is what Klopp’s likely 11 would look like:
- Jones to join Ben Doak and Jota in the front three
- Endo, Elliott and Gravenberch in unchanged midfield from LASK
- Joe Gomez to start alongside the rest of the back four from Austria
This is how Liverpool would line up:
Kelleher; Gomez, Konate, Quansah, Tsimikas; Endo, Elliott, Gravenberch; Doak, Jota, Jones
Alternatively, there are plenty of other options available to the manager should he wish to shuffle the pack even further.
Trent Alexander-Arnold continues to work his way back to full fitness and the meeting with Union SG could give him a chance to get more minutes under his belt ahead of Brighton.
Darwin Nunez did not feature against Tottenham at the weekend and will be keen to get himself on the pitch, be that from the start or off the bench.
This is how a slightly different set-up could look:
- Nunez to lead the line after sitting out against Tottenham
- Gravenberch to play No. 6 to accommodate Jones in the middle
- Alexander-Arnold to step in at right-back with Gomez moving into the middle
It would therefore look something like this:
Kelleher; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Quansah, Tsimikas; Gravenberch, Elliott, Jones; Doak, Nunez, Jota
Liverpool got their Europa League group stage campaign off to a good start having come from behind to see off LASK 3-1 in Austria a fortnight ago.
Another win would set the Reds nicely on their way to securing qualification for the knockout rounds, something the manager will want to tie up sooner rather than later.
There will naturally be one eye on this weekend’s trip to the South Coast when it comes to team selection, but the squad unquestionably has the depth to deliver three points in both fixtures.
Up the Reds!
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