Liverpool are back in European action looking to maintain a 100% record in the Europa League when they welcome Ligue 1 outfit Toulouse to Anfield for the first time since 2007.
The Reds prevailed 4-0 on that previous encounter with goals from Sami Hyypia, Peter Crouch and a Dirk Kuyt brace. For this current crop of Anfield stars, this is a big opportunity to take one giant stride towards qualification and perhaps as group winners.
Whilst three points here won’t necessarily guarantee a top spot, with LASK still to come to Merseyside the group does appear to be taking care of itself with relative ease and even allowing Jurgen Klopp to rest key players where possible.
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Ahead of the visit of the French side, we spoke to French journalist Bastien Cheval to get the lowdown on Toulouse.
He said: “All I can say is that I’m fairly confident Liverpool should win this, given the gap in class between the sides. It would also be interesting to see Toulouse goalie Guillaume Restes on the big stage. He’s their starting GK at only 18, hugely promising, and also the starting GK in Thierry Henry’s France U21 team.
“Centre-back Rasmus Nicolaisen and centre-forward Thijs Dallinga are good players too. Unfortunately for them, their most skilled outlet, Morocco international winger Zakaria Aboukhlal, did his ACL some weeks ago.
“All in all, it’s a tough-to-beat but relatively mid-Ligue 1 side. They’re 10th in the league at the moment. The funny thing is, the club’s president is former LFC executive Damien Comolli.
“Comolli has implemented his famed data-driven approach to Toulouse with, so far, just a Ligue 1 promotion to show for it. They owed their UEL spot thanks to Nantes’ self-explosion in the Coupe de France final that Toulouse won 5-1. They were 4-0 up at the half-hour mark.
“Besides, their UEL spot was at risk given they are owned by RedBird Capital Partners, who also owns a majority share in AC Milan. Toulouse shuffled their board members to get the Uefa green light.”
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Predicted XI
Whilst Klopp will be desperate to get the job done at the earliest possible opportunity, it seems unlikely this will be the strongest XI at his disposal.
As such expect to see fresh faces, with academy starlet Luke Chambers back in contention following an injury layoff, it seems certain the youngster will give Kostas Tsimikas a break ahead of a crucial spell covering for Andy Robertson.
The midfield remains somewhat of a dilemma but a start for Curtis Jones due to his ongoing domestic suspension feels almost inevitable.
Likewise, the front three provides its own selection headaches currently as Ben Doak has been sidelined and Cody Gakpo missed out on the matchday squad for the Merseyside derby.
XI: Kelleher, Alexander-Arnold, Quansah, Gomez, Chambers; Endo, Elliott, Jones; Jota, Nunez, Diaz.
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