LASK vs Liverpool Predictions
LASK welcome Liverpool to Oberosterreich Arena for a UEFA Champions League encounter on Wednesday.
The Austrians are struggling for form, and despite the Reds' forward issues, I still expect a high-scoring away win.
Liverpool win & over 2.5 goals is my best bet.
Goals Likely in Linz
- LASK lost 3 of their last 5 matches
- LASK have seen over 2.5 goals in 9 of their last 11 matches
- LASK conceded 3+ goals in their last 2 matches against Liverpool
- Liverpool won their last 2 matches against LASK
- Liverpool won 4 of their last 6 matches
- Liverpool have seen over 2.5 goals in 3 of their last 5 matches
Liverpool Hold the Head-to-Head Advantage
LASK and Liverpool will meet for the third time on Wednesday. Liverpool won both previous encounters in the 2023/24 Europa League campaign.
The Reds claimed a 3-1 victory in Austria before cruising to a 4-0 win at Anfield.
LASK Slip-Up Against Rapid
LASK come into Wednesday's Champions League contest after a 2-0 home defeat against Rapid Wien on Sunday.
Second-half goals from Guido Burgstaller and Claudy Mbuyi sealed a deserved away win for the Austrian Bundesliga leaders.
Rapid dominated possession (62%), outshot their opponents 13-10, and finished the contest with a significantly higher xG total (2.33-1.11)
Sunday's setback extended LASK's winless run to four competitive matches. Dietmar Kuhbauer's men lost three of those games, with eight goals conceded in that period.
LASK also made a losing start in the Champions League, going down 1-0 against AEK Athens.
The Austrians qualified for the competition for the first time with a remarkable 5-4 aggregate win against Celtic. After a 3-0 defeat in Glasgow, LASK overturned a four-goal aggregate deficit with a stunning 5-1 victory in the return leg.
Liverpool Punished by Ruthless Citizens
Liverpool make the trip to Austria after a disappointing 3-0 EPL defeat against Manchester City at Anfield on Sunday.
A tight contest swung in City's favour when Ryan Gravenberch was sent off with the game still goalless. Erling Haaland struck soon after, before Jeremy Doku and Rayan Cherki wrapped up a satisfying win for the under-fire Citizens.
Before Sunday's defeat at Anfield, Liverpool had enjoyed a seven-match unbeaten run across all competitions. While yet to hit top form, Andoni Iraola's side won four and drew three of those fixtures.
The Reds made a winning start in the Champions League with a 2-1 victory against Atletico Madrid at Anfield last month. Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister scored as Iraola's side came from behind to secure the points.
Quarter-finalists in last season's Champions League, Liverpool won 14 of their last 17 league phase fixtures in the past two years. An average of 3.11 goals per game were scored in those matches.
LASK vs Liverpool Team News
LASK: (5-3-2) Lukas Jungwirth; Kasper Jorgensen, Xavier Mbuyamba, Joao Tornich, Andres Andrade, George Bello; Alessandro Schopf, Robert Ljubicic, Sascha Horvath; Moses Usor, Sasa Kalajdzic.
LASK boss Kuhbauer is expected to make some changes to his first XI this week. Moses Usor, Samuel Adeniran and Alessandro Schopf are among those pushing for recalls.
Ramiz Harakate remains unavailable with a knee injury.
Liverpool: (4-2-3-1) Alisson Becker; Ronald Araujo, Jeremy Jacquet, Virgil van Dijk, Milos Kerkez; Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister; Victor Munoz, Florian Wirtz, Bradley Barcola; Federico Chiesa.
Liverpool boss Iraola has several injury concerns ahead of Wednesday's contest.
Alexander Isak, Dominik Szoboszlai, Conor Bradley, Hugo Ekitike, Giovanni Leoni and Cody Gakpo are all ruled out for the Reds.
Ferderico Chiesa has returned to training and could lead the Reds' weakened attack. Lewis Koumas is another option after making his first EPL start against Man City.
“Champions League away games are always tough, we know this,” head coach Iraola told Liverpoolfc.com ahead of the match.
“It’s a team that in their competition, they won the competition. They are normally dominant; they spend a lot of time on the ball. And they have to change their approach a little bit when they go to face stronger opposition in the Champions League.
“We have this season the precedent of Celtic losing here 5-1 in extra time. We have to respect them.”