Liverpool vs Union Saint-Gilloise match preview: team news, lineups, TV, kick-off time

After the extremely controversial defeat away at Tottenham, Jurgen Klopp must now get his squad ready to face Union Saint-Gilloise in the Europa League, with the Reds aiming to make it two wins from two in Group E.

Liverpool may have been handed their first defeat of the 2023/24 season in the Premier League, but their 100% record still remains intact in Europe.

The Reds opened their campaign last month with a trip to LASK, and despite conceding characteristically early, they ultimately cruised to a 3-1 victory, with Darwin Nuñez, Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah all getting on the scoresheet for the first time in the competition.

Much like the clash with LASK, Klopp is expected to rotate his team heavily against Belgian side Union Saint-Gilloise, with plenty of Liverpool's young stars likely to get minutes once again.

This may not be the most glamorous of fixtures, but they all count, and it's important Liverpool smash through the group stages and map a route to the final in Dublin next year.

Here's everything you need to know about the game.

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• Date: Thursday, 5th October 2023

• Kick-off time: 20:00 BST / 15:00 ET / 12:00 PT

• Stadium: Anfield

HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORD

Union Saint-Gilloise is yet another team in Group E that Liverpool have never faced in a competitive match. There's a first time for everything!

The Reds may have ultimately beaten LASK, but they weren't pushovers and much of the same can be said regarding the Reds' Belgian opposition on Thursday.

Managed by Alexander Blessin, Union Saint-Gilloise are currently top of the Belgian Pro League with 19 points, having won six, drawn one and lost two of their opening nine matches, and there is little doubt the players (including Alexis Mac Allister's brother Kevin) will give their all against a team as big as Liverpool.

Union Saint-Gilloise have form in Europe, having made it to last season's Europa League quarter finals before they were knocked out by Leverkusen.

They are also linked to Brighton and have helped develop talent like Kaoru Mitoma and Simon Adingra in recent years.

WHERE TO WATCH LIVERPOOL VS UNION SAINT-GILLOISE ON TV

Starting with the good news, the Reds will go into the clash against Union Saint-Gilloise with Trent Alexander-Arnold back at Klopp's disposal.

The full-back has officially recovered after a little over three weeks on the sidelines with the hamstring injury he sustained against Aston Villa, and even featured against Spurs at the weekend with a 20-minute cameo.

Despite the important Premier League clash with Brighton coming just three days after the mid-week fixture, Liverpool's first choice full-back could well be selected to start against the Belgian side on Thursday in order to give Joe Gomez a rest.

Gomez has been superb since Alexander-Arnold's injury, but given his own history with injuries, and the fact that Conor Bradley is still unfit and unavailable to cover at right-back, it may be deemed sensible for Gomez to be benched on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Diogo Jota and Curtis Jones will also both be available for selection in Europe, with their respective bans from their red cards against Tottenham only making them ineligible for domestic fixtures.

The bad news, however, is Liverpool will go into the clash without Cody Gakpo. The Dutchman was forced to leave the field shortly after scoring his equaliser at the weekend.

Not only will the Reds be without the forward's services for this game, he look like he will be out for several weeks, which is a massive blow for the club.

Thiago Alcantara also remains injured. The Spaniard is yet to play a single minute for Liverpool since April and, despite many false deadlines, his return date remains unknown.

Stefan Bajcetic is another major doubt, having suffered a 'setback' in his return to full fitness.

UNION SAINT-GILLOISE TEAM NEWS