Liverpool Without Szoboszlai, Isak and Gakpo for LASK Trip as Slot Names Changed XI

Liverpool begin their Champions League campaign at the Raiffeisen Arena without three senior players, and the team sheet confirms the scale of the problem. Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexander Isak and Cody Gakpo all miss the trip to LASK, none of them having featured in Sunday's 3-0 defeat to Manchester City after injuries picked up during the international break.

The absences strip Arne Slot's front line of two recognised centre-forward options and remove his most vertical midfielder. Isak and Gakpo were both unavailable at the weekend; Szoboszlai's absence leaves the right half of the attacking line short of its usual carrier. The head coach was careful not to put a date on any of the three. "They are not far, but it is difficult to say right now," he said.

LASK set up in a 3-4-1-2, a shape that puts three centre-backs against Liverpool's single central striker and asks the wing-backs to cover the full width of the pitch alone. The mechanics are straightforward: the back three can defend the box narrowly, but the channels outside the wide centre-backs are the responsibility of two players who must also join attacks. Against a Liverpool side that will likely field wide forwards rather than a target man, that is the area to watch.

Alemão and Andrés Andrade are the names to track in LASK's build-up. Both are listed among the key players for the home side, and both will be asked to progress the ball through a Liverpool midfield that, without Szoboszlai, loses some of its capacity to press forward as a unit. Alessandro Schöpf's role between the lines in the 3-4-1-2 will determine whether LASK can turn possession into entries into the final third or whether they are pinned back.

Liverpool line up in a 4-2-3-1, the shape Slot has used since arriving. The double pivot protects the back four, and the three behind the striker are expected to rotate into the half-spaces. Without Gakpo and Isak, the central striker role falls to a player who has not been named in the brief's key list, and without Szoboszlai the right-sided attacking berth loses its most direct runner.

Bradley Barcola is listed among the key players, and his inclusion points to the wide threat Liverpool will lean on. Alisson Becker's presence in goal is the one constant at the back. The question for Slot is whether the front four can generate enough movement to pull apart a back three that will happily defend the centre and concede the flanks.

LASK's shape is a deliberate invitation. Three at the back against one striker means the home side will concede possession in wide areas and look to counter through Schöpf and the two forwards. Liverpool's 4-2-3-1, shorn of Szoboszlai's running and two forward options, may struggle to turn territorial control into clear chances if the wide players do not attack the space behind LASK's wing-backs.

Both sides arrive on the back of discouraging weekend results. LASK lost 1-0 to AEK on matchday one of this competition, and Liverpool's 3-0 defeat at Manchester City was their heaviest of the season. The team sheets confirm that neither manager has the luxury of a full squad, and the shapes on the board suggest a game decided in the channels rather than through the middle.

Kick-off at the Raiffeisen Arena will show whether LASK's back three can hold its width for 90 minutes and whether Liverpool's reshaped attack can find the runs that Szoboszlai, Isak and Gakpo would normally provide.