September 21 – Liverpool begin their Europa League campaign as hot favourites to lift the title for a fourth time with most odds being offered around 7/2. Compare this to Brighton at around 12-1 and Roma, third favourite at 16-1, bookies are taking no chances in terms of where they expect to be the UEL winners.
Liverpool have a UEFA coefficient of 123.000 – a total 26 points clear of any other club taking part in the group stages this evening. The six-time UEFA Champions League winners currently sit third on the Euro Club Index team ranking with 4031 points, behind only Treble winners Manchester City and the side’s UCL final nemesis Real Madrid.
Liverpool open against Austrian outfit LASK this evening in their first Europa League bout since 2016, where they finished runners-up to Sevilla to close out Jurgen Klopp’s debut season with the club.
Eight seasons later, with the German still at the helm, Liverpool embark on a new journey for many of the players who are so familiar with the hum of the Champions League anthem after a disappointing fifth-place Premier League finish – they won the title in 2019 and were losing finalists in 2018 and 2022.
Despite the team’s recent absence from the competition, the club has three UEFA Europa League titles to its name, making it one of the most decorated teams in the history of the competition behind UEL regulars Sevilla, who have a staggering seven titles collected between 2006 and 2023.
Liverpool are in Group E alongside LASK, Toulouse and Union Saint-Gilloise, which will pit new signing Alexis Mac Allister against his brother who plays as a centre-half for the Belgian club.
Fuelled by a flurry of shiny new midfield signings, Liverpool have had a strong start to the Premier League season claiming 13 points from the opening five games. The reds have certainly gained back that sense of inevitability, claiming all three points after conceding the opening goal against Bournemouth, Newcastle and Wolves already this season.
Liverpool fans can expect to see more minutes given to highly-rated young Scottish star Ben Doak, who signed a new contract at the club earlier this week, alongside other young talents as big names are expected to be rested ahead of a clash with West Ham at the weekend.
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at moc.l1726876221labto1726876221ofdlr1726876221owedi1726876221sni@g1726876221niwe.1726876221yrrah1726876221