LASK vs Liverpool Preview: Team news, lineups & prediction

Liverpool beat LASK home and away in the Europa League three years ago, 3-1 in Linz and 4-0 on Merseyside, meaning the Reds have won eight of ten previous clashes with Austrian clubs. LASK have never beaten a Premier League outfit in six attempts, losing five, all coming since 2020.

So, ahead of Liverpool's visit to Raiffeisen Arena on Wednesday evening, check out our preview, predictions, team news and TV info.

LASK vs Liverpool match info

Date: Wednesday 14 October 2026.

Kick off times: 6:45pm (CEST), 5:45pm (BST) and 12:45pm (ET)

Competition: UEFA Champions League league phase matchday 2

Venue: Raiffeisen Arena - Linz, Oberösterreich.

How to watch: Paramount+ (USA) and TNT Sports 2 (UK).

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LASK vs Liverpool match preview

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LASK (Home side): This will be an historic night for LASK, whatever the outcome. Having won their first Austrian Bundesliga title since 1965, die Schwarz-Weißen have qualified for the Champions League for the first time ever. To get here, Dietmar Kühbauer's team spectacularly overcame Celtic in the play-off round, 4-0 down on aggregate half an hour into the second leg, only to produce an astonishing comeback.

LASK then commenced the league phase with a narrow 1-0 defeat against AEK Athens, Răzvan Marin scoring a sublime free-kick at Agia Sophia Stadium, but this is the game they have truly been waiting for. Despite their lack of Champions League expirence, LASK have become UEFA competition regulars in recent seasons.

Die Schwarz-Weißen have now featured in a group stage or league phase in six of the last seven campaigns, losing only four of their last 30 home matches in Europe. One of these defeats did come against Liverpool in the Europa League, but this is unlikely to be plain sailing for the visitors.

Liverpool (Away team): As for Liverpool, how will they respond, after suffering a first defeat under Andoni Iraola? On Sunday, the Reds were inarguably the better side against Manchester City at Anfield, that is until Ryan Gravenberch was very controversially sent off by referee Chris Kavanagh. The Sky Blues then scored twice very quickly, ultimately cruising to a 3-0 victory.

Thus, having won only two of six Premier League games so far, it is clear that this team is a working progress. Nevertheless, Iraola's team did make the perfect start to their Champions League campaign. Last month, fabulous strikes from Dominik Szoboszlai and then Alexis Mac Allister either side of half time saw the Reds beat Atlético Madrid 2-1 on Merseyside.

Since the introduction of the league phase, Liverpool have finished first and third, so will be targeting another top eight finish again this year. Well, after this trip to Austria, the Reds will also travel to Fenerbahçe, Club Brugge and Inter, as well as hosting Villarreal, Porto and Lens, which are friendly fixtures, to put it mildly. First and foremost, will they leave Raiffeisen Arena with all three points?

LASK team news

Dietmar Kühbauer's team were actually beaten 2-0 by Rapid Wien on Sunday, leaving them five points below the Austrian Bundesliga leaders. Christoph Lang though has been on fire, scoring ten goals already this season, now seeking a first in UEFA competition.

He was partnered in attack by former Wolves striker Saša Kalajdžić at the weekend, but American Samuel Adeniran could return, with USMNT international George Bello the starting left-wing-back. From Liverpool's last visit to Linz three years ago, only captain Sascha Horvath, Panamanian centre-back Andrés Andrade and Robert Ljubičić could feature here too.

Liverpool team news

Dominik Szoboszlai, Cody Gakpo and Alexander Isak all returned from international duty injured, hence why the trio sat out Sunday's defeat against Manchester City. None are forecast to make the trip to Linz either; neither Wataru Endō nor Federico Chiesa can feature, as they are not in the UEFA squad.

So, what changes could Andoni Iraola make? Kostas Tsimikas may well be rotated in for Miloš Kerkez at left-back while, on the opposite side, he seemingly does not trust Jeremie Frimpong. Rio Ngumoha is poised to come into attack, after Lewis Koumas led the line at the weekend, while Bradley Barcola is seeking his first goal for the club. Lastly, Ryan Gravenberch will be suspended at Brentford on Saturday, so is certainly set to start this one.

Predicted Line-ups

LASK predicted lineup: Jungwirth; Andrade, Mbuyamba, Alemão; Jørgensen, Bogarde, Ljubičić, Horvath, Bello; Lang, Adeniran.

Liverpool predicted lineup: Alisson; Araújo, Jacquet, van Dijk, Tsimikas; Gravenberch, Mac Allister, Wirtz; Muñoz, Ngumoha, Barcola.

Score prediction: LASK 1-3 Liverpool.