Whenever Anfield suffers a bruising domestic setback like Sunday's 3-0 defeat to Manchester City, the beauty of the modern European calendar is that you are rarely given time to sit and feel sorry for yourself.
Liverpool are out in Austria to take on LASK at the Raiffeisen Arena in matchday two of the Champions League league phase. The Redmen made the journey without Alexander Isak, Cody Gakpo, and Dominik Szoboszlai, leaving Andoni Iraola with just 15 senior outfielders and a mandatory reliance on his squad depth.
With four fixtures crammed into ten days, our Rush The Kop Liverpool writers share their preview thoughts and select their starting XIs for Wednesday's early 5:45pm BST kick-off in Linz.
Hugo Mirabel-Hardy
The Reds will be looking to put Sunday’s disappointment behind them, and fast. Wednesday’s match against LASK should be the perfect way to do that.
On paper, Liverpool shouldn’t run into any issues this game, but we all know football isn’t quite so simple.
With Alexander Isak, Cody Gakpo, and Dominik Szoboszlai all ruled out of the travelling squad, an opportunity opens up for fringe players and youngsters to get vital minutes in their legs.
And rotation should be the priority for Andoni Iraola. The Reds will be focused on LASK but the game away to Brentford at the weekend should be prioritised.
As a result, there should be a lot of changes for the midweek game. My back five features Alisson Becker in goal, with Kostas Tsimikas and Jeremie Frimpong as the fullbacks.
Joe Gomez will feature alongside Virgil van Dijk, who will hopefully be cleared to play, as the centre-back pairing.
Since he won’t be available at the weekend, Ryan Gravenberch will start with Trey Nyoni, and Florian Wirtz to continue in the 10 position.
Rio Ngumoha should get a start, with Victor Munoz also likely to feature on the right wing. Lewis Koumas will lead the line again for the Reds after a solid performance against City.
My team (4-2-3-1): Alisson; Frimpong, Gomez, Van Dijk, Tsimikas; Gravenberch, Nyoni; Munoz, Wirtz, Ngumoha; Koumas.
Samuel Hackett
With an unyielding and relentless schedule rapidly approaching over the coming weeks and with far stern tests on the horizon against Brentford and Villarreal, before Chelsea arrive in town next midweek today feels like a tailor-made, logical opportunity for Andoni Iraola to shuffle his pack.
With Alexander Isak, Cody Gakpo, and Dominik Szoboszlai all ruled out of the travelling party following their respective international fitness setbacks, the door swings wide open for those on the fringes to make their presence felt.
Iraola cannot afford to run his core regulars into the ground this early in the autumn, making Wednesday night in Austria less of a tactical dilemma and more of an essential exercise in squad management.
Ever-presents Alisson Becker and Virgil Van Dijk keep their places, with Ronald Araujo moving to centre-back to partner the Dutchman in my team. Jeremy Jacquet was nursing a knock coming into the Manchester City game so it makes sense to wrap him in cotton-wool for this one.
At full-back I’d go with Kostas Tsimikas and Joe Gomez. The latter came on against Manchester City and I think getting minutes in his legs will be important ahead of a testing schedule.
In midfield it will be interesting to see what Andoni Iraola does with Florian Wirtz. His performance against Manchester City raised serious question marks but I do think the Basque manager will stick with him today.
Sunday’s man of the match turned villain, Ryan Gravenberch, will definitely start ahead of his suspension this weekend and it will be either Trey Nyoni or McAllister to take the final spot. I’ll edge it to the youngster.
Leading the attack, both Bradley Barcola and Rio Ngumoha should start with one of Victor Munoz or Lewis Koumas joining them. I’ve just edged it Koumas for a more balanced three, but it could be either.
My team (4-2-3-1): Alisson, Tsimikas, Van Dijk, Araujo, Gomez, Nyoni, Gravenberch, Wirtz, Barcola, Koumas, Ngumoha
Damon Forsythe
Following a disappointing 3-0 defeat to Manchester City on Sunday, Andoni Iraola’s side will be hoping to respond with a strong performance on Wednesday against LASK.
Starting with the goalkeeper, a position that picks itself, Alisson gets the nod between the sticks for me.
In the backline, I see no need to change the four that the Basque manager has deployed so far this season. Araujo may not have put in his best performance in a red shirt, but in a hostile atmosphere, his physicality will be needed.
Moving on to the two midfielders in front of the defence, with Szoboszlai out injured once again, Gravenberch takes the first spot. Partnering him, I would go with Mac Allister.
With every passing week, however, it becomes increasingly difficult to ignore teenage sensation Trey Nyoni.
Despite the recent onslaught of Florian Wirtz, I would still have him slot into the number 10 position, completing the midfield trio.
Cody Gakpo and Alexander Isak are absent once again for this fixture, leaving Iraola with the same options he had at his disposal this weekend.
On the left-hand side, Rio Ngumoha comes into the team. Having not started last weekend, the 18-year-old will be looking to make an impact on the European stage.
The right-sided attacker stays the same in my opinion. Victor Munoz was electric in the previous game, and there is no reason to leave him out of the starting eleven.
Completing the frontline, I would deploy Bradley Barcola down the middle. We saw the Frenchman shift into a more central position once the Reds went down to ten men.
Lewis Koumas put in a very strong display despite being thrown into a tough occasion, but on a Champions League night, I feel he may be more impactful coming off the bench.
My team (4-2-3-1): Alisson, Kerkez, Jacquet, Van Djik, Araujo, Gravenberch, Mac Allister, Wirtz, Ngumoha, Munoz, Barcola
With key figures sidelined and a brutal autumn schedule looming, Linz offers the ideal stage for Liverpool's squad depth to shine.
For the likes of Florian Wirtz and Bradley Barcola, it’s an immediate chance to silence recent noise; for youngsters like Trey Nyoni and Rio Ngumoha, it’s a golden opportunity to show they belong on the European stage.
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