On the opening day, Liverpool will be very focused on winning their first victory even though the Europa League is not the most important arena in the eyes of the representative of the foggy country. Mirror Football noticed 5 notable things in Liverpool’s final training session before the opening match of the Europa League.
1. The return of Trent Alexander-Arnold
Trent Alexander-Arnold did not take part in the main training session, which took place in front of the media, but the Liverpool right-back did have some time on the field alone.
The England international suffered a hamstring injury, a problem that caused him to miss the away win against Wolves, but the star born in 1998 clearly found enough physical strength to have a personal training session with the coach.
Pictures of Alexander-Arnold show that he seems ready to return to play. This helps Liverpool feel secure because Joseph Gomez played disappointingly at right-back against Wolves.
2. Bajcetic reappears
Before preparing for the match with LASK, Liverpool fans witnessed Stefan Bajcetic return after he suffered his current injury at the end of last season. The Spaniard has not played for Liverpool since March, but the Europa League group stage match could be seen by Jurgen Klopp as the ideal time to bring Bajcetic back, although this possibility is not high.
3. First start for Gravenberch
Shining at Ajax, Ryan Gravenberch is said to have a bright future. However, after a dismal first season at Bayern Munich, he went to Liverpool for 34 million pounds and began the process of proving himself again.
The Dutch international came off the bench very late in the match against Wolves, but will likely make his first start for Liverpool. The media noted that Gravenberch always smiles when training, which promises to show that rookie The Kop will earn a lot of playing time at the new club.
4. Van Dijk is ready
Virgil van Dijk missed Liverpool’s last two matches in the Premier League because of a suspension for receiving a red card against Newcastle United. That unintentionally helped the Dutch midfielder reach his fullest physical foundation before his debut in the Europa League.
Although the encounter with LASK is not as important as the Premier League match at the weekend, Klopp is likely to let Van Dijk start. The fact that Liverpool’s two pillars, Van Dijk and Alexander-Arnold, are in good shape is clearly a big boost for The Kop.
5. High spirits
In the context of Liverpool having to go through the Europa League and facing a busy schedule, Klopp still looks very calm when getting along with his team. The German coach was seen taking pictures laughing with his goalkeeping coaches before the trip to Austria.
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