Liverpool has been a regular in the Champions League in previous years, but after a dismal season last time around, the Merseyside team will now play in the Europa League.
Due to the competition’s Thursday/Sunday scheduling, league campaigns have previously experienced issues. According to Joel Matip of Liverpool, this will likely affect the Reds as well in the upcoming months.
“We are used to playing in midweek so this is not new for us, but of course, it means there are always just two days in between whenever we play in the Europa League.
“There’s not a lot of time to prepare for the weekend game as there will always be more time needed on recovery. But we all want to play European football and therefore we are ready to give it our all.”
The league games against West Ham United and Brighton, who are both in the same place as Liverpool in the standings, came after the Reds’ first two European matches this season. However, that won’t be the case for Liverpool’s last four home meetings against Nottingham Forest, Brentford, Fulham and Manchester United this year.
Jurgen Klopp’s team has had a successful start to the season, but as the season goes on, will they suffer because of the Europa League? Time alone will tell.