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Photo by Christian Hofer/Getty Images
The Reds look to get the job done in Europa as the season enters its busiest stretch.
Liverpool vs LASK Linz
| Thursday, November 30th |
Europa League | Anfield
8PM BST / 3PM EST
As Liverpool enter the densest period of the fixture list for the year, with ten games in the next 33 days, they’ll be hoping to make the last game of the group stages a formality by defeating LASK at Anfield tomorrow night.
The Austrians currently occupy the bottom spot in Group E, but with just a four-point gap up to Toulouse who they face in the final round and two games left, there is still everything to play for, and Anfield is as impressive a place to cause an upset as any player could want.
Domestically, Die Laskler have done about as well as expected, and manager Thomas Sageder have lead his team to a third place with half the season gone. The Austrian will preside over a nearly injury-free squad, and the presence of top scorer Robert Zulj will be a benefit as the team looks to avenger their 3-1 loss from the opening day of the Europa League.
Projected Liverpool Lineup (4-3-3)
Kelleher; Gomez, Matip, Quansah, Tsimikas; Endō, Jones, Elliott; Diaz, Gakpo, Doak
For the Reds, a disappointing performance and result in France means top spot in the group might not be secured until the final day of the group stage, although any point acquired tomorrow will guarantee progress to the knockout rounds.
The injury suffered by Alisson against City on Saturday mean Caoimhín Kelleher starts in goal, while squad rotation likely translates to starts for Joe Gomez, Ibrahima Konaté, Jarell Quansah and Kostas Tsimikas at the back.
In midfield, Stefan Bajcetic and Thiago remain unavailable, and a start for Wataru Endō is probably, while Curtis Jones will be given a chance to remedy his disappointing outing at the weekend. Harvey Elliott likely mans the most attacking midfield role.
Up top, Diogo Jota is out following his knock at City, giving Luis Díaz an opportunity to start on the left after the Portuguese appeared to have taken the spot for himself, while Cody Gakpo and Ben Doak could be given starting berths as Darwin Núñez and Mohamed Salah lurk on the bench.
What the Managers Said
Jürgen Klopp: “We have to make sure we really show a Liverpool package that is a wonderful place to come but a horrible place to come as well in the same moment.”
Thomas Sageder: “Even though we are at different levels, we always believe that we have a chance of taking something home with us. We want to demand everything from Liverpool.”
The Officials (SUI)
Referee: Urs Schnyder
Assistant referees: Marco Zürcher, Benjamin Zürcher
Fourth official: Sven Wolfensberger
VAR: Marco Fritz (GER), Alejandro Hernández (ESP)
Kickoff is set for 8PM GMT/3PM EST tomorrow, and television listings for the match can be found on LiveSoccerTV.
In the meantime, and as always, we’ll be keeping you updated with all the buildup to the game, including team news as it’s released, our live matchday thread, and post-match recaps from The Liverpool Offside staff. If you want to join the discussion, sign up for an SB Nation account to have your say on the action as it happens.
