Europa League: Upending Liverpool is a Tough Ask for LASK

LASK vs Liverpool

Liverpool are back in the Europa League after a fifth-place finish in the Premier League last season, and their first opponent is LASK, who qualified by finishing third in last season’s Austrian Bundesliga.

Jurgen Klopp’s side has started the 2023-24 campaign on fire by going undefeated in their first five Premier League matches, including a four-game winning streak.

Thomas Sageder’s men, meanwhile, are on a similar run in Austria, as they’ve only lost once so far in their first seven games, highlighted by a three-game winning streak.

Liverpool and LASK are grouped together with Toulouse and Union Saint-Gilloise in Group E of the Europa League. The Reds are favoured to finish on top of the group, and a road win against Die Laskler is a good way to start.

Talking Points

Who are LASK’s key players?

Compared to Liverpool, LASK don’t have many household names, but they have quality players who can give their visitors problems on Thursday.

One of them is Marin Ljubicic, who was named in the Top 100 list for the Best Young Footballers in Europe by the CIES. The 21-year-old is ranked 71^st on the list.

Ljubicic is a handful to deal with in the final third. Even if he is far from a finished article, especially being clinical inside the box, Ljubicic can use his physicality to outwork his defenders, and he’s deceptively quick too.

Ljubicic has had a slow start to the season, scoring only two goals in nine appearances, but his potential is so high that the young Croatian even drew comparisons to Kylian Mbappe, which says a lot.

Other than Ljubicic, LASK also has the likes of Robert Zulj and Philipp Ziereis, veterans who have experience at this stage.

Zulj is currently LASK’s top scorer in the Austrian Bundesliga with three goals, while Ziereis has played every minute for the club so far as their top-choice centre-back.

Liverpool boosted by van Dijk’s return

Liverpool are given a huge shot in the arm with the impending return of Virgil van Dijk, who happens to be their team captain.

The Dutchman received a straight red card in their 2-1 win against Newcastle United last month, and he is serving his ongoing suspension in the Premier League. Fortunately for the Reds, that doesn’t apply here in the Europa League.

And after Joel Matip’s lacklustre performance against the Wolves last time out, van Dijk should be able to start again for Jurgen Klopp, and he will be paired alongside Ibrahima Konate at the heart of the Reds’ rearguard.

In other news, Liverpool are awaiting the returns of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Thiago Alcantara.

Alexander-Arnold is currently nursing a hamstring injury that he sustained in their 3-0 victory against Aston Villa last month, and he pulled out of England’s squad during the September international break.

According to the Europa League 2023 updates, Trent Alexander-Arnold was seen back in training, although he might not be involved in Liverpool’s traveling contingent alongside Thiago Alcantara, who suffered a setback in his hip surgery recovery.

History

LASK and Liverpool are set to face off for the first time across all competitions.

Prior to Thursday, Die Laskler were winless against Premier League sides (D1, L3), with two defeats in the 2019-20 Europa League Round of 16 against Manchester United and one draw with Tottenham in the 2020-21 Europa League group stage.

However, LASK have only lost one of their last 16 matches in all European competitions (W11, D4), with the last loss being a 4-1 defeat to Slavia Praha in last season’s Europa Conference League.

On the flip side, the Reds have only lost one of their eight previous encounters with Austrian sides in European tournaments (W6, D1), with the only loss being a 1-0 result against Grazer AK in the 2004-05 Champions League qualifying before they actually won the whole thing.

This is Liverpool’s first Europa League campaign since finishing as runners-up in 2015-16, and Jurgen Klopp’s third with the team.

Betting Tip

The SBOTOP Europa League 2023 odds like Liverpool’s chances to win way better than LASK’s, as the Reds are priced at 1.31, while Die Laskler are the underdogs at 6.40, and a draw is at 5.00 odds in the 1X2 market.

Both teams are in great form, but Liverpool are more impressive considering their level of competition in the Premier League than LASK in the Austrian Bundesliga.

In fact, Jurgen Klopp’s men should be considered one of the favourites to win the whole thing too.

 

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