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Photo by Peter Byrne/PA Images via Getty Images
The Reds look to make it three from three and more or less secure their advancement to the knockout stage.
Liverpool vs Toulouse
| Thursday, October 26th |
Europa League | Anfield
8PM BST / 3PM EST
Liverpool’s season has entered a busy stretch, with the Reds playing seven matches in 22 days before the next international break, and after a solid win in the Merseyside derby on Saturday, their next challenge is making sure they can turn the latter half of the Europa League group stage as comfortable as possible.
Tomorrow’s opponents haven’t starter their season anything as impressively as they would have liked, and Toulouse currently sit 10th in Ligue 1 with 11 points from nine matches, but the reigning Coupe de France champions will nonetheless be doing their best to cause an upset as they travel to Anfield for the second time in the club’s history, and the first time since 2007.
Manager Carles Martínez Novell will miss Oliver Zanden and top scorer Zakaria Aboukhlal due to injury, but can otherwise call on his full squad.
Projected Liverpool Lineup (4-3-3)
Kelleher; Gomez, Matip, Quansah, Tsimikas; Endō, Jones, Elliott; Gakpo, Darwin, Doak
For the Reds, Andrew Robertson is out for an estimated three months to recover from shoulder surgery, but Kostas Tsimikas or Luke Chambers would likely have deputised for the Scot regardless. Expect rotation through the defense, as Joe Gomez, Joël Matip and Jarell Quansah look set to start.
In midfield, Stefan Bajcetic and Thiago have yet to return to full training, while Curtis Jones is a lock to start, being in the middle of a three-match domestic ban following his sending off at Tottenham. Wataru Endo and Harvey Elliott likely partner the Englishman.
Up top, Cody Gakpo is back in full training and may get the nod, possibly alongside Darwin Núñez — who only came on as a substitute at the weekend — and Ben Doak.
What the Managers Said
Jürgen Klopp: “Toulouse deserve all of our respect. They won the French Cup last season, which is a massive thing. This season they have a young, talented team. It’s not that I think we can lose this game, we want to win and reach nine points. We have to play our best, but the boys showed so far they are really ready for the competition.”
Carles Martínez Novell: ““
The Officials (SVN)
Referee: Rade Obrenovič
Assistant referees: Jure Praprotnik, Grega Kordež
Fourth official: David Šmajc
VAR: Christian Dingert, Marco Fritz (GER)
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.
