Jurgen Klopp will not be wanting his Liverpool players to dismiss or forget the injustice that occurred at Tottenham on Saturday, but to use it as fuel as the 2023/24 season progresses.
Klopp’s beleaguered nine-player troop were eventually beaten in gut-wrenching fashion at the weekend as Spurs struck at the death to steal all three points. It took woeful incompetence in the VAR room and a pair of red cards for Tottenham to snap Liverpool’s 24-game unbeaten run, and Union Saint-Gilloise are set to face the Reds’ wrath on Thursday night.
Liverpool opened their Europa League account with a comeback 3-1 win at LASK two weeks ago, while their Belgian opposition were held by Toulouse on Matchday 1.
Here’s how the Reds could line up for their upcoming midweek encounter.
GK: CaoimhÃn Kelleher – Alisson will be in bubble wrap on Thursday while Kelleher starts between the sticks.
RB: Trent Alexander-Arnold – The unicorn full-back is returning from a hamstring injury and only earned minutes off the bench at the weekend. Klopp could look to ease Trent back in by giving him a start on Thursday.
CB: Jarell Quansah – The young defender looks a serious talent, and Liverpool supporters would love to see him play a little more frequently. He should get a start here.
CB: Ibrahima Konate – Joel Matip was favoured over Konate at Tottenham, although the Frenchman came on late as Liverpool sought to hold on with nine men.
LB: Kostas Tsimikas – Liverpool have a steady back-up option at left-back in Tsimikas, who recently signed a new deal with the club, and Andy Robertson should get a night off.
CM: Wataru Endo – Endo produced his best performance in a Liverpool shirt last week against Leicester in the Carabao Cup, but he was named on the bench again at the weekend. He’ll be looking to impress again on Thursday night.
CM: Ryan Gravenberch – With Liverpool’s other midfield signings hitting the ground running, it currently looks difficult for Gravenberch to earn regular Premier League minutes.
CM: Harvey Elliott – Elliott has a knack for impressing off the bench, but the Europa League gives the midfielder the chance to start and potentially dominate in the middle of the park.
RW: Ben Doak – The young Scot dazzled the Liverpool boss in pre-season and the vast majority of his minutes this season will arrive in cup competitions.
ST: Darwin Nunez – Klopp is carefully managing Nunez, who will play a big role for the Reds this season. After he failed to get on the pitch at the weekend, the striker will surely get minutes under his belt with Cody Gakpo injured.
LW: Diogo Jota – Given that he won’t be available for the trip to Brighton, it might make sense for Jota to be used on Thursday despite his idiocy at Spurs.
