Liverpool’s Europa League rivals go seven games unbeaten ahead of their “game of the year”

Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool will compete in the Europa League for the first time since their 3-1 defeat to Sevilla in the final of the 2016 competition.

The Reds are aiming to win the Europa League for the fourth time in their history. Liverpool’s last triumph came back in 2001 when Gerard Houllier’s men lifted the trophy by scoring the golden goal in extra time.

Liverpool begin their European campaign high on confidence and they are unbeaten with four victories and one draw from their opening five Premier Leagye matches.

But their upcoming opponents LASK are hopeful of staging an upset on Liverpool’s first ever visit to the Raiffeisen Arena in Austria. LASK have kicked off the season in a rich vein of form and they are flying high in the Austrian top-flight in third position.

The Linz-based outfit are unbeaten in their last seven games in all competitions and their only defeat was a 2-0 loss to Sturm Graz on 5 August. LASK have scored 11 goals in their opening seven games of the season and conceded just five.

LASK’s most recent victory was an excellent 3-1 over Klagenfurt, which saw the team score three goals in eight minutes. Their most potent threat in front of goal is currently club captain Robert Zulj who has scored five goals and provided four assists in 10 games in all competitions.

The one-time Austrian League winners are hoping to lift the league title for the first time since 1965 and build on a third-place finish last term.

They are also aiming to once again reach the knockout stages of the Europa League, having recently achieved the feat in both 2019 and 2022.

Speaking ahead of the game captain Zulj spoke with confidence. He told Sky Sports Austria: “It’s the game of the year for every player, every employee of the club and every fan. Of course we want to give it out best and see what happens.”