Although unlikely, if they beat Liverpool and Toulouse lose to LASK, they could join Liverpool in a competitive play-off with a huge goal difference. . There is a chance that they will advance in the conference league or even be eliminated from Europe altogether.
We’ll no doubt hear Klopp talk about the indecisiveness of the rest of the squad when he speaks to the press. That means he will take tomorrow’s game seriously, even if his work is done. But that shouldn’t tempt him to use one of his star players against Union SG. The Belgian side put it bluntly: Liverpool have much bigger fish to fry this weekend. The game against Manchester United is always one of the first games fans look forward to at the start of the season, and a win for the Reds against their old rivals would set up a huge clash with Premier League leaders Arsenal. And the Reds showed the dangers of such an important game even after advancing in Europe.
Eric ten Hag, who already has a long list of players missing, is expected to add at least two more players after Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw were injured against Bayern Munich and Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial are out the cause of a disease. Ten Hag clearly had no choice but to field their strongest team against the German champions. But Klopp’s situation is the exact opposite. Liverpool have nothing to gain from their last group game but have a lot to lose if players get injured. So while it may be tempting to start with one or two experienced options or bring a few big names off the bench if Liverpool fall behind tomorrow, Klopp should avoid this. The risks far outweigh the rewards. There’s a chance to see some familiar faces fly to Belgium today, but there are at least 11 players who won’t be making their second appearance tomorrow. Alexis McAllister will not play even if he is fit, but the squad includes Alisson, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, Kostas Tsimikas, Wataru Endo, Dominik Szoboszlai, Mohamed Salah, Luis Diaz and Darwin Núñez Added to list of players not worth the risk. There are also several possible options: Players like Joe Gomez, Curtis Jones, Harvey Elliott, Ryan Gravenbirch and Cody Gakpo can all play, but they certainly shouldn’t come near the pitch for 90 minutes. 45 minutes can be enough.
Figuring out how strong a team should be in the Europa League can sometimes be a tricky balancing act. But Klopp will have to postpone all thoughts until tomorrow. It’s not worth the risk.
Jurgen Klopp is very grateful to Union SG. Without his effort against Toulouse, this week would have been much more difficult for the Liverpool manager.
Liverpool advanced to the Europa League group stage with a comfortable 4-0 win over LASK, but Belgium secured top spot with a goalless draw against France. That makes a trip to mainland Europe this week a no-brainer, at least for visitors. There is much more to come at Union SG.
Qualifying for the knockout stages of the Champions League may seem impossible, but there is still a chance, but you might not know that if you were actually watching the game at Old Trafford.
