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Rangers vs. Liverpool: Preview, Team News, and Ways to Watch

Yet again, the Reds look for a bounceback win after a disappointing result.

Liverpool FC v Rangers FC: Group A - UEFA Champions League Photo by Ulrik Pedersen/DeFodi Images via Getty Images

Rangers vs Liverpool

| Tuesday, October 4th |
Champions League | Anfield
8PM BST / 3PM EST

Still annoyed about the result at the weekend? Not to worry, there’s no time to dwell on anything, good or bad, because Liverpool are playing 10 games in the next 32 days. Next up is a trip to Ibrox in an attempt to secure a grip on qualification to the knockout stages of the Champions League.

It’s only been a week since the Reds dispatched Rangers 2-0 at Anfield, and despite a late goal line clearance and an elite save from Alisson, it was the sort of comfortable, dominant, kinda dull win Jürgen Klopp’s men have specialised in in recent years.

Not much has changed for the Gers in the intervening week; they smushed St. Mirren 4-0 at home on Saturday and look like they might be missing Glen Kamara through injury, but otherwise, the Reds will be facing much the same side as the one they beat a week ago, but this time with 50.000 noisy Scots behind them.


Projected Liverpool Lineup (4-3-3)

Alisson; Gomez, Konaté, van Dijk, Tsimikas; Fabinho, Thiago, Elliott; Carvalho, Núñez, Salah


Liverpool, however, will have to make changes, enforced by injury, of course. Trent Alexander-Arnold and Joël Matip will both miss a fortnight or so through an ankle and calf injury, respectively, while Andy Robertson’s knee is yet to fully heal, meaning Joe Gomez, Ibrahima Konaté, Virgil van Dijk and Kostas Tsimikas will start at the back.

Naby Keïta, Curtis Jones and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain remain unavailable, and Fabinho only played substitute minutes at the weekend, so the Brazilian will likely be reinstated into the starting XI, but whether in a double pivot alongside one of Jordan Henderson and Thiago, or in a midfield three with both is up in the air at the moment.

Up top, Luis Díaz’s knee injury will keep him out until after the World Cup, though no operation was needed, so a starting line-up of Diogo Jota, Roberto Firmino, Darwin Núñez and Mohamed Salah isn’t unlikely, while Fabio Carvalho slotting into the left inside forward spot is also a possibility.


What the Managers Said

Jürgen Klopp: “.”

Giovanni van Bronckhorst: “The threat they have with the strikers, they’re all at the top of their game, world class players, so we have to be ready for their attacks, but we also have to be able to be brave to attack as well, we have to do that more frequently than we did last week.“


The Officials (SVN)

Referee: Slavko Vinčić
Assistant referees: Tomaž Klančnik, Andraž Kovačič
Fourth official: Alen Borošak
VAR: Matej Jug, Nejc Kajtazovic


Kickoff is set for 8PM GMT/3PM EST tomorrow, and television listings for the match can be found on LiveSoccerTV.

In the meantime, and as always, we’ll be keeping you updated with all the buildup to the game, including team news as it’s released, our live matchday thread, and post-match recaps from The Liverpool Offside staff. If you want to join the discussion, sign up for an SB Nation account to have your say on the action as it happens.

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