LASK welcome Liverpool for the second matchday of the Champions League league phase, with a full house in Austria ready for a meeting that tests two sides at very different points of their European return.
The hosts, coached by Dietmar Kühbauer, arrive after defeat against AEK in their first match back in the competition. Liverpool travel after opening their campaign with a win over Atlético Madrid at Anfield, but Andoni Iraola has made extensive changes for the trip.
Quick facts
- Competition: Champions League, league phase, matchday two.
- Venue: LASK’s stadium, sold out for the occasion.
- Referee: German official Stieler.
- Liverpool wear white.
- LASK are set up in a 5-3-2, while Liverpool use a 4-2-3-1.
- Liverpool began their European campaign by beating Atlético Madrid; LASK lost to AEK.
The Champions League anthem has been played, followed by the usual handshakes and pre-match photographs, as both teams complete their final preparations on the pitch.
Liverpool rotate heavily
Iraola has selected an unfamiliar Liverpool side for the club’s first away fixture of this league-phase campaign. The visitors are without Szoboszlai, Isak, Gakpo and Ekitike, while Virgil van Dijk, Alexis Mac Allister and Víctor Muñoz begin among the substitutes.
Alisson Becker starts in goal. Jérémy Jacquet, Kostas Tsimikas, Jeremie Frimpong and Ronald Araujo make up the defence, with Trey Nyoni, Florian Wirtz and Ryan Gravenberch in midfield.
Bradley Barcola, Rio Ngumoha and Lewis Koumas lead the attack. The selection underlines Liverpool’s attempts to manage a squad still adjusting to Iraola’s methods.
Giorgi Mamardashvili, Luke Chambers, Van Dijk, James McConnell, Jayden Danns, Wellity Lucky, Milos Kerkez, Víctor Muñoz, Mac Allister, Joe Gomez, Freddie Woodman and Joshua Sonni-Lambie are on the Liverpool bench.
LASK face a major continental test
LASK put Lukas Jungwirth in goal, with Andrés Andrade, Xavier Mbuyamba, Kasper Jørgensen, Yvan Dibango, Alemão and Melayro Bogarde named in the defensive unit.
Alessandro Schöpf and Krystof Danek are listed through midfield, while Christoph Lang and Samuel Adeniran provide the forward threat for Kühbauer’s side.
Nael Kane, Manoël Verhaeghe, Miguel Freckleton, Daniel Elfadli, Fabian Schillinger, Robert Ljubicic, Sasa Kalajdzic, Florian Flecker and Tobias Schützenauer are among the LASK replacements.
For LASK, the evening brings one of European football’s established names to a packed home ground after a difficult opening result. For Liverpool, it is an early chance to turn a rotated squad and an unsettled start under a new coach into a valuable away-night statement.
