Liverpool will play French team Toulouse on Thursday night in the Europa League with the goal of maintaining their unblemished record in Group E.
With victories over LASK and Unions SG to begin their first Europa League campaign since 2016, the Reds may advance significantly with three points from this match.
Following a lacklustre performance against Tottenham and Brighton prior to the international break, Jurgen Klopp’s team got back on track against Everton.
But as they attempt to make it three wins from three for the group, they will now be hoping to hold onto that derby-winning feeling at Anfield.
These are the ten things you should be aware of before Toulouse vs. Liverpool.
1.Gakpo is “ready for the team.”
The manager gave us several updates on his team’s fitness while giving us a preview of their third Europa League match of the current campaign.
The manager claims that Cody Gakpo has been in “full training” since Sunday and is “available for the squad.” Ben Doak wasn’t in full training on Wednesday afternoon, but his fitness issue wasn’t mentioned elsewhere in the attack.
Darwin Nunez, who began experiencing cramping at the end of last week, according to Klopp, “is fine for this game, I would say.”
Although Andy Robertson’s management acknowledged that his operation “went well,” he also acknowledged that “we don’t know how long it will take” for him to recover.
Additionally, the boss provided an update on Stefan Bajcetic, stating that he is still “not
2. Toulouse danger men
The French team, who have already won four points from their opening two Group E games, will be eager to win at Anfield to further their own hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages.
With three goals this season, Frank Magri leads Toulouse in scoring. Prior to the trip to Anfield, he was not included in the starting lineup for Toulouse’s 1-1 tie with Reims.
Guillaume Restes, an eighteen-year-old custodian with exceptional talent in Europe, will face challenges regardless of the front line Klopp chooses.
3. The left-back conundrum
Due to Andy Robertson’s injury, Liverpool’s senior left-backs will have more opportunity to play in the upcoming weeks.
The replacement for the Scotland skipper against Everton was Kostas Tsimikas, but players like Joe Gomez, Luke Chambers, and even Calum Scanlon will be looking for opportunities in Robertson’s absence.
Given that Klopp has a tendency to switch up his lineup in this league, is it possible that young players may get an opportunity against Toulouse?
4. A rare gathering
The two teams will only meet at Anfield on Thursday; their first meeting was back in 2007 when they won 4-0 in Champions League qualifying.
Having advanced to two of the previous three finals by defeating the London team at the same level, Liverpool was eliminated by Chelsea in the competition’s semi-final that season.
5. Jones’s Chance
Curtis Jones can still play in this match even if he hasn’t finished his three-game domestic ban after getting sent off against Tottenham.
The trip from Toulouse offers Liverpool’s No. 17 the ideal chance to keep up his game sharpness before making his official comeback following this weekend’s match against Nottingham Forest.
Given the outstanding performances of Ryan Gravenberch and Harvey Elliott in his absence, Jones will almost definitely start and be eager to leave his mark.
6. Shortcut opportunity
Although the Europa League has given the manager a much-needed chance for rotation, he will still want to make sure his players play with professionalism until the task is done.
If the Reds were to finish first in their group, they would advance directly to the last 16 stage of the knockout stages, skipping the “playoff” round.
Dublin is now just a little bit closer as the next stage doesn’t start until March 7 after the two-leg “playoff” round on February 15 and 22!
7. Unconventional qualifying route
You might be wondering how Toulouse made it to this year’s competition after taking a quick look at the Ligue 1 standings from the previous season.
The French team placed 13th in the top flight last year, but they were able to qualify for Europe by taking home the 2022–23 Coupe de France trophy.
Toulouse is playing in the Europa League for the first time since 2009 after crushing Nantes 5-1 in the Paris final.
8. Expect more changes
For the first time since 2016, the team under the manager’s rotation has been able to establish a rhythm in the Europa League and League Cup by exiting the Champions League.
Although players like Gravenberch and Elliott have participated extensively in those tournaments thus far, the manager may decide to distribute opportunities more in light of their outstanding recent league performances.
Prior to this one, Klopp made a vague statement indicating that he “will make a few changes, not too many maybe.”
After missing Union SG’s visit three weeks ago due to a knee injury, Caoimhin Kelleher is back in the lineup and eager to start in goal against Toulouse.
Predicted XI vs. Toulouse: Kelleher; Gomez, Matip, Quansah, Chambers; Elliott, Endo, Jones; Salah, Nunez, Gakpo
9. Referee watch
We fans seem to know less about European referees, but maybe that’s a good thing!
On Thursday night, Rade Obrenovic will be officiating his first Liverpool match; however, he has officiated an England match where Trent Alexander-Arnold scored three goals in ten minutes.
10. Come along for the ride!
This Is Anfield is here to provide you with live updates from Anfield as the Reds attempt to win three straight games in Europe.
On Thursday night, Liverpool has a significant opportunity to make progress towards Dublin. You can follow all of the action on our very own matchday liveblog, which will be accessible starting 45 minutes prior to kickoff.
Up the Reds!