Jurgen Klopp was keeping his cards close to his chest when it came to who could start at LASK on Thursday, but he did make it known that Liverpool are not here “to give opportunities.”
The Reds’ Europa League campaign gets underway on Thursday at LASK, with the competition prompting many to expect wholesale changes for Liverpool.
Ben Doak is one of a handful of players who have been expected to benefit from a season in the Europa League, along with the likes of Caoimhin Kelleher.
In the build-up to the Europa League opener the manager has insisted that he will not be “experimental,” and he doubled down in his press conference.
“Absolutely no information about that,” Klopp said of his team news during Wednesday’s press conference.
“You have to wait until tomorrow, have a look at the lineup and enjoy it or don’t. Accept it and then we go.
“We are here to compete, not to give opportunities,” he insisted. “For nobody. Not for us and not for them. It’s not about that. We want to fight.”
Klopp’s words certainly suggest we will see a stronger side than many expected, even with West Ham‘s visit to follow less than 72 hours after the match finishes in Austria.
Virgil van Dijk is one name we can expect to see on the team sheet after missing the last two games due to suspension, and the hint Klopp was offering means we could also see the likes of Alisson and Mohamed Salah in the XI.
“We are really here to play football, we take this seriously,” Klopp said of Thursday’s opponents. “We are not arrogant, we want to compete and win here.”
