Ian Doyle previews Liverpool's Europa League tie against LASK at the Raiffeisen Arena
Some 2,682 days since the desperate disappointment of Basel, Jurgen Klopp returns to where it more or less started for him at Liverpool.
Since then, the progress has been sizeable, with the occasional setback brushed aside as Liverpool emerged as the only team to seriously threaten moneybags Manchester City’s increasingly weary domination in England.READ MORE: Virgil van Dijk reveals what he enjoyed about missing last two Liverpool games
And it says much about the strength in depth at present that Klopp can still field a strong team this evening despite wholesale changes being expected in the Europa League Group E opener against LASK here in the Austrian city of Linz this evening."My first year, I thought the Europa League was a bit too much for us until we got to the final," says Klopp. "We had to fly to Russia, played on a frozen pitch in Sion.
That none of the 18-strong matchday squad from the Europa League final in 2016 are still at the club serves further to underline how Klopp is now in the process of what he hopes will be his second truly competitive Liverpool team. The midfielder, however, is among those likely to be given a breather tonight, having been an ever-present thus far, with other summer signings Wataru Endo and Ryan Gravenberch, along with youngsters Harvey Elliott and Stefan Bajcetic, vying for a place in the engine room. Trent Alexander-Arnold and Thiago Alcantara, though, remain sidelined.
"I know we are favourites and you like to play the game big club v small club," says Klopp. "But we are here to play football and take this game seriously. We want to take the most of it. The stadium is wonderful, they opened it in February. We are not arrogant, we want to compete and win here.
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