Liverpool will be without eight first-team players as they travel to Austria to face LASK in the Champions League, with the club turning to several academy prospects to fill out the squad for the away fixture.
Alexander Isak remains sidelined after picking up a thigh problem while away on international duty with Sweden last month, while Cody Gakpo is also unavailable having returned to the club earlier than planned because of an ankle issue. The pair were notably absent as Liverpool's travelling party was filmed departing from John Lennon Airport on Tuesday afternoon, with the club later confirming a 23-man squad for the trip to Linz.
Among those also missing from the flight was Dominik Szoboszlai, who has been troubled by tightness in training. Speaking after Liverpool's defeat to Manchester City, the club's manager explained the situation surrounding the midfielder.
"Dom came from the national team with tightness, an overload," the manager said. "We put him as a floater in the training and tried to protect him but he was feeling something very small."
The packed scheduling has not helped matters, with the squad facing a demanding run of four matches inside ten days. "It's true that now we play four games in 10 days, so it's going to be difficult because we fly to Austria in two days. I think it's going to be difficult to recover any of the players," the manager added, highlighting the challenge of managing fitness levels during such a congested period.
Despite the absences, Liverpool will still be able to call upon a number of senior figures for the European fixture. Captain Virgil van Dijk has travelled with the group and is set to make his 200th appearance for the club while wearing the armband, a notable milestone for the Dutch defender. He is joined by goalkeeper Alisson Becker, as well as Joe Gomez, Florian Wirtz, Alexis Mac Allister, Ryan Gravenberch and Bradley Barcola, all of whom made the trip to Austria.
With the squad stretched thin, the club has opted to promote several academy players to provide additional cover. Josh Sonni-Lambie and Wellity Lucky have both been called up from the youth ranks, joining a group of young talents already included in the travelling party. Lewis Koumas, Trey Nyoni, Rio Ngumoha, James McConnell and Luke Chambers are all part of the squad named for the match, giving several emerging prospects the opportunity to be involved in a Champions League fixture.
The decision to lean on academy talent underlines the scale of the absences currently affecting the first team, with injuries to key attacking players in particular leaving the squad short of options going forward. Isak's thigh issue and Gakpo's ankle problem both represent significant blows, given their importance to the side's attacking play, while Szoboszlai's fitness concerns add to the list of players unavailable for selection.
Further clarity on the extent of the squad problems is expected when the manager speaks to media at the pre-match press conference ahead of kickoff, where additional updates on the fitness and availability of the absent players may be provided.
For now, Liverpool must navigate a difficult period of fixture congestion with a significantly weakened squad, relying on experienced heads like Van Dijk and Alisson alongside a handful of academy graduates thrust into senior European action sooner than many might have expected.
Based on reporting from Standard Sport.