Jurgen Klopp‘s Liverpool have enjoyed a strong start to the season on the face of results, unbeaten in the Premier League and second in a difficult Group C of the Champions League.
A 3-2 victory over Paris Saint-Germain on the opening matchday was rather spoiled by a 1-0 defeat away to Napoli in a performance strewn with errors.
They now return to Anfield to face a Red Star Belgrade side which has performed strongly domestically, but sit bottom of the group in Europe with only one point from two matches, a snore draw with Napoli.
Here is everything you need to know before the match:
Match details
Kick off: 8pm on Wednesday 24 October 2018
How to watch: Coverage will start from 7pm from on BT Sport 2 HD which you can watch live on TV, online or via the app.
Venue: Anfield
Referee: Daniel Siebert (Germany)
Form: Liverpool (LDLDW),Red Star Belgrade (WLWWW)
Odds: Liverpool 1/16, Draw 16/1, Red Star Belgrade 40/1
Team news and expected line-ups
For Liverpool, Naby Keita and Sadio Mane have been injured on international duty and are unlikely to feature, and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain remains out with his knee ligament injury. Jordan Henderson was substituted after an injury at Huddersfield forced a half-time substitution and will be touch and go here.
Red Star have suffered critical injuries to forward Marko Marin and left-back Milan Rodic, as well as midfielder Jonathan Cafu. Centre-back Vujadin Savic is also deemed a risk at present, but will likely be rushed back to fitness to play as an important player for the side.
Here is how the teams could line up:
View from the tunnel
Jurgen Klopp is due to speak to the media on Tuesday afternoon, at which points we will have an updated on injuries and team news.
In the meantime Liverpool forward Xherdan Shaqiri has spoken about playing the Serbian side Red Star Belgrade as a man born to Kosovan-Albanian parents in the former Yugoslavia. The Switzerland international player said: “No, nothing. It’s just a normal game and I will treat it like a normal game.
Read more: Why Red Star Belgrade provide Liverpool with prime opportunity to rediscover their flair
“Of course maybe there are going to be some people who will whistle at me. But I treat every game the same.
“In the end, it’s just a football game. It’s an important game too and we want to win it. Sport is not politics.”
Red Star forward El Fardou Ben Nabouhane has spoken about supporting Liverpool as a child: “I was a Liverpool fan as a kid, dreamed of playing at Anfield, but I’m a professional football player and I’ll be focused.”
After a Red Star official was alleged of betting just over £5m on the club losing by five goals to Paris Saint-Germain (they lost 6-1), manager Vladan Milojević said: “I don’t know why you think that we have any problem.” He added that the “players are acting normally” and working hard in training sessions.
i verdict
The 1991 European Cup winners from Serbia are suffering some high profile injuries to Marin and Rodic, leaving their left flank particularly vulnerable. Although Klopp may see this game as an opportunity to rotate, given Red Star’s comparative lack of quality, he may also see it as the ideal occasion to put Salah in front of a weak defence to gain some more confidence.
It is true that Liverpool have seemed out of sorts at times this season, but mostly against teams such as a Carlo Ancelotti-managed Napoli in pugnacious form. Expect to see Klopp bring in some underused personnel, perhaps players like Fabinho, Alberto Moreno, Adam Lallana or Daniel Sturridge, in order to give some of his first team arrest.
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At home, in Europe, needing to assert themselves, its hard to see Liverpool losing to a side that was thumped 6-1 by Paris Saint Germain.
More on the Champions League:
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