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Photo by Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images
The Reds travel to France as they look to secure group stage victory at the earliest possible juncture.
Toulouse vs Liverpool
| Thursday, November 9th |
Europa League | Stadium de Toulouse
5:45PM BST / 12:45PM EST
Despite a disappointing result at the weekend, spirits should be good in the Liverpool camp as they travel to Toulouse with the opportunity to wrap up top spot in Group E with two games to go.
Since the 5-1 tonking at Anfield two weeks ago, les Violets have lost consecutive games for the first time this season, and now sit in 14th place with 11 points, just one point out of the relegation zone in Ligue 1.
Collecting four points in the Europa League thus far, however, means the french outfit will be in with a shot at progressing to the knockout stages regardless of how things shake out tomorrow, and any result at all will put them in good stead for the run-in.
Manager Carles Martínez Novell will have to make do without Denis Genreau and Zakaria Aboukhlal, but captain Vincent Sierro and top scorer Thijs Dallinga will be available to feature.
Projected Liverpool Lineup (4-3-3)
Kelleher; Gomez, Matip, Quansah, Chambers; Endō, Mac Allister, Elliott; Diaz, Gakpo, Doak
For the Reds, although an early group win is desireable, one can safely expect Jürgen Klopp to continue rotating his squad, as he makes use of the depth that has been acquired over the past season. Joe Gomez and Luke Chambers are candidates to start at fullback, while the partnership of Joël Matip and Jarell Quansah is likely to continue.
In midfield, minor knocks will keep Curtis Jones and Ryan Gravenberch out of contention, while Stefan Bajcetic and Thiago remain long-term absences, meaning Wataru Endo and Harvey Elliott will be accompanied either by one of Alexis Mac Allister or Dominik Szoboszlai, or a youngster such as James McConnell.
Up top, Ben Doak is back in full training and could be set to start, while starts for Cody Gakpo and Luis Díaz would be useful to get the pair back into rhythm. Big guns Darwin Núñez and Mohamed Salah likely stay on the bench as break glass options, while Diogo Jota is a dark horse to start.
What the Managers Said
Jürgen Klopp: “They will try to use the atmosphere, I can imagine that, and how I said, we have to make sure we are ready. We are quite experienced in European competition in the last few years, and we know away games are different, definitely different. It gives us a chance anyway. It’s about us as well and how we play.”
Carles Martínez Novell: “Everyone speaks about Anfield. We’ll remember it our whole lives thanks to the atmosphere brought by the Toulouse supporters. Tomorrow, the match will be played in front of our fans. Liverpool can suffer too. We need to make them remember the Stadium.”
The Officials (BUL)
Referee: Georgi Kabakov
Assistant referees: Martin Margaritov, Diyan Valkov
Fourth official: Nikola Popov
VAR: Dragomir Draganov, Georgi Dimitrov
Kickoff is set for 5:45PM GMT/12:45PM 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.
