Liverpool takes on Union Saint-Gilloise in the Europa League, with seven players set to be missing for Jürgen Klopp as his side rounds out the group stage.
Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp can afford to make as many changes as he likes when Liverpool faces Union Saint-Gilloise on the sixth and final matchday of the Europa League group stages on Thursday.
After the Reds beat LASK 4-0 at Anfield in the last round of fixtures, and Toulouse drew 0-0 with Union SG, their progression to the knockout stage as group winners is assured.
Klopp’s men have picked up 12 points from a possible 15 so far, with the only aberration a 3-2 defeat away to Toulouse on matchday four. Topping the group guarantees passage to the last of 16, whereas the side in second place will have to face off with a third-place Champions League team in an intermediate round.
While that makes this fixture an effective dead-rubber for Liverpool, it’s anything but for Union SG, which has to win, and hope Toulouse loses to LASK, to have any chance of making it through. It could yet finish bottom of Group E too if it loses and LASK takes three points.
Diogo Jota (muscle) and Alexis Mac Allister (knee), were both absent from training on Wednesday and remain short-term absentees for Liverpool, while Andy Robertson (shoulder) and Thiago (hip) are out until the new year.
The return timeline of Stefan Bajčetić is unknown for now, but Joël Matip’s season is over after he sustained an anterior cruciate ligament injury at the start of the month. With nothing riding on the game, Klopp has elected to leave some of his most important stars behind on Merseyside.
Reigning player of the season Alisson, skipper Virgil van Dijk, vice-captain Trent Alexander-Arnold and top scorer Mohamed Salah have not made the trip. Their absence could pave the way for some youngsters to get a chance, with plenty on the plane to Belgium.
Perhaps the most notable names are midfielder Tom Hill and forward Lewis Koumas, neither of whom have featured for the first team yet this season. Liverpool.com brings you the full list of players available to the manager, including some of those academy talents, as the Reds look to sign off with a victory.
Goalkeepers: Caoimhín Kelleher, Marcelo Pitaluga, Fabian Mrozek.
Defenders: Ibrahima Konaté, Joe Gomez, Jarell Quansah, Kostas Tsimikas, Luke Chambers, Conor Bradley, Calum Scanlon.
Midfielders:Dominik Szoboszlai, Wataru Endō, Curtis Jones, Harvey Elliott, Ryan Gravenberch, Tom Hill, James McConnell.
Forwards:Luis Díaz, Cody Gakpo, Darwin Núñez, Ben Doak, Kaide Gordon, Lewis Koumas.
Players who are injured: Joël Matip, Andy Robertson, Thiago Alcântara, Stefan Bajčetić, Alexis Mac Allister, Diogo Jota.
Players who are doubtful: N/A
Players left out of the squad: Alisson, Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mohamed Salah.
