Following Sunday’s 3-0 defeat to Manchester City at Anfield, where Ryan Gravenberch was sent off with the score still goalless, Liverpool will hope for a more comfortable outing in Austria.
Both LASK Linz and Liverpool are seeking a win to get their seasons back on track. LASK have lost three of their last four matches in all competitions, including their opening Champions League fixture against AEK Athens.
Liverpool, meanwhile, began their European campaign with a victory over Atletico Madrid but have endured inconsistent domestic form.
Their defeat to Manchester City was their first in the Premier League this season, while three draws have left them nine points behind the leaders after six matches.
Liverpool are expected to be without Alexander Isak, Cody Gakpo and Dominik Szoboszlai again after the trio missed Sunday’s defeat. However, Gravenberch is available, as his suspension applies only to domestic competitions.
Hugo Ekitike, Conor Bradley and Giovanni Leoni remain long-term absentees, while Wataru Endo and Federico Chiesa are unavailable after being omitted from Liverpool’s Champions League squad.
With fixtures coming thick and fast, Andoni Iraola could use the encounter against LASK to rotate his squad and hand starts to Joe Gomez, Trey Nyoni and Rio Ngumoha.
LASK, meanwhile, have injury concerns of their own, with Moses Usor and George Bello both picking up injuries during their weekend defeat to Rapid Vienna. Bello has since been ruled out of the game.
Usor is a major doubt for Wednesday’s Champions League clash after suffering a shoulder injury in LASK’s 2-0 home defeat on Sunday.
The 24-year-old Nigeria winger is racing against time to recover for the crucial encounter. LASK head coach Dietmar Kuhbauer has since provided an update on Usor’s fitness ahead of the meeting with Liverpool.
“With Mo, it’s the shoulder joint that is a bit injured. I hope it won’t take too long,” Kuhbauer was quoted by Laola. “George appears to have a muscle injury. He definitely won’t be available on Wednesday,” he added.
Usor has scored two goals and provided three assists in eight league appearances for LASK this season. Liverpool beat LASK 7-1 on aggregate in the 2023/24 Europa League group stage, winning 4-0 at Anfield and 3-1 in Linz.
The Reds have won 19 of their last 22 Champions League group-stage and league-phase matches. LASK, meanwhile, have failed to win any of their last nine games at this level.
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