On Thursday, Liverpool will play in the Europa League for the first time since 2016. The Reds will travel to Austria to face LASK in their first group stage match.
It is not the European competition that Liverpool would have hoped to be in this season, having reached the Champions League final just over a year ago, but it does provide Jürgen Klopp with the opportunity to win the one trophy that has eluded him during his time at Anfield, having finished runner-up seven years ago.
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The Reds manager is likely to rotate his squad in order to keep his players fresh ahead of a busy schedule in the coming weeks.
Klopp will provide an injury update during his pre-match press conference on Wednesday at 7pm UK time (11am east coast, 2pm west coast).
Virgil van Dijk, who served a two-game Premier League suspension, might return to the squad in Austria. Ibrahima Konaté and Darwin Nez were able to come off the bench against Wolves despite being doubts, but the two may not be risked on this occasion.
Trent Alexander-Arnold
Alexander-Arnold was forced to withdraw from England’s international duties after suffering a hamstring injury against Aston Villa on Saturday.
Klopp has reiterated that the injury is not a problem, telling reporters before of the game against Wolves: “He hasn’t trained with the team yet and will take a little bit.” It’s not the worst hamstring injury you can have, but it’s still a hamstring injury, and they don’t recover in two weeks — and this one didn’t either.”
Alexander-Arnold has been running, and Klopp is hoping that he will be able to return to the field before Thursday’s game. A journey to Austria, though, appears to be too risky, therefore you’d think prudence will be exercised and the Reds’ vice-captain will be left at home to prolong his recovery, with one eye on the weekend’s meeting with West Ham.
Conor Bradley
Bradley, who impressed in the hybrid role throughout preseason, could have been in line to deputize at right-back with Alexander-Arnold out injured.
After suffering a stress fracture in his back during the training camp in Germany, the 20-year-old is expected to be out for three months, giving Klopp a headache on the right side of defense.
Thiago Alcântara
Liverpool supporters are yet to see Thiago in action this season, despite the Spaniard missing the closing weeks of last season as well.
The 32-year-old experienced a setback in his recuperation after hip surgery, having intended to return before the most recent international break.
Thiago was recently spotted at the AXA Training Centre, but Klopp said last week that he wasn’t doing any ball training, making it exceedingly unlikely that we’ll see him against LASK or in action anytime soon, with no updated return date specified.