Lask Linz vs Liverpool
LASK Linz vs Liverpool Preview
Wednesday night in Linz, and Liverpool head to the Raiffeisen Arena looking to put a miserable weekend behind them. The 3-0 hammering at home to Manchester City stings, but context matters here — Ryan Gravenberch’s red card around the hour mark changed the game completely, and the atmosphere inside Anfield was as much about the broader storm surrounding that fixture as anything Andoni Iraola’s side did wrong. The Reds will want to park all of that and focus on what genuinely matters right now: getting points on the board in the Champions League and showing they belong among Europe’s elite during what is clearly a transitional season at the club.
For LASK, this is a different kind of pressure altogether. Dietmar Kuhbauer’s side flew out of the blocks domestically with seven straight wins, which had supporters dreaming, but that momentum has been well and truly halted. They go into this on a four-game winless run — beaten by AEK Athens in their Champions League opener, then undone by rivals Sturm Graz, and thumped 2-0 by Rapid Vienna at the weekend. The European points column is empty, the confidence is shot, and now they face a Liverpool side who, whatever their current problems, are still a class above almost anyone in this competition. The Raiffeisen Arena crowd will turn up and do their bit, but this is a massive ask for the Black-Whites.
The stakes are clear enough. Liverpool need a win to keep pace at the top of the league phase and maintain the momentum from their impressive 2-1 comeback win against Atletico Madrid last month. LASK simply need something — anything — to avoid falling adrift in the group before the campaign has really got going. History, form, and squad depth all point firmly in one direction.
LASK Linz vs Liverpool Form
LASK’s start to the season made them look like genuine contenders domestically. Seven straight wins in the Austrian Bundesliga is no joke — that kind of run builds belief and sets a tone. But European football operates at a different speed, and their Champions League bow against AEK Athens exposed that. Beaten 1-0 by a Razvan Marin free kick, they never looked like getting back into it. What followed was worse: dropped points against Sturm Graz and then a fairly comprehensive 2-0 loss to Rapid Vienna on Sunday. Four games without a win, the goals drying up, and confidence draining fast. That is not the trajectory you want heading into a game against Liverpool.
Liverpool’s form is harder to read because there are so many moving parts. The City result was ugly on the scoresheet, but the red card skewed everything, and the context of that fixture makes it difficult to draw clean conclusions. What is clearer is what they did to Atletico Madrid — coming from behind away from home, showing real grit and quality to turn it around through Szoboszlai and Mac Allister. That is the Liverpool that Iraola is trying to build: composed, direct, capable of finding a way. The squad is depleted right now, with attacking options thin on the ground, but the bones of the team remain solid. In European competition this season, they are the side with momentum, not LASK.
The pattern that jumps out is simple: LASK’s recent form is trending downward at exactly the wrong time, while Liverpool, despite their wobbles domestically, have shown they can perform on the European stage when it counts. The Reds also carry a psychological advantage here — they know how to travel in Europe and get the job done, even when things are not perfect back home.
LASK Linz vs Liverpool Head to Head
These two sides have met before, and it was not pretty for the Austrians. During the 2023-24 Europa League group stage, Liverpool beat LASK 3-1 in Linz and then put four past them without reply at Anfield. That 4-0 at Anfield was particularly sobering. Those scorelines give you a sense of the gap in class, and while Liverpool are a different squad now under Iraola, the fundamental quality difference has not disappeared. Wider than that, LASK have never beaten an English club across six attempts — one draw and five defeats, with 11 goals conceded and only four scored at home in those home meetings against English opposition. That is a brutal record, and Wednesday does not look like the night it turns around.
Liverpool, for their part, have a brilliant record against Austrian clubs — eight wins from ten, with only one defeat. More relevantly, they have never lost on Austrian soil in a competitive match, winning four times and drawing once. The Raiffeisen Arena is a decent ground with a passionate support, but it has not been a graveyard for English clubs, and nothing in LASK’s recent form suggests that changes here.
LASK Linz vs Liverpool Lineups
LASK have notable injury concerns going in. Ramiz Harakate is out with a knee problem and likely misses this one, while Moses Usor is a doubt after picking up a shoulder injury at the weekend. If both are absent, Kuhbauer looks set to go with Sasa Kalajdzic and Christoph Lang up front, with Kasper Jorgensen and Yvan Dibango providing the width from the wing-back positions. George Bello is also sidelined with a muscle injury, so the back line has limited cover for disruption. Losing Usor and Harakate, two of their more creative forward options, blunts what was already a limited attacking threat at this level.
Liverpool are carrying their own injury headaches, but the depth is there to absorb it. Szoboszlai came back from international duty with a tight hamstring and looks set to miss out, while Gakpo and Isak are both doubts, and Ekitike remains a long-term absentee. That is a significant chunk of the attacking options gone, but Iraola has cover. Lewis Koumas is likely to lead the line again, with Rio Ngumoha, the excellent Florian Wirtz, and Bradley Barcola in behind. Mac Allister and Gravenberch anchor the midfield, and that pairing has real quality. Losing Szoboszlai and Isak hurts, no question, but this is still a Liverpool squad with serious European pedigree.
LASK Linz vs Liverpool Tactics
LASK under Kuhbauer tend to operate with a back three that morphs into a five when out of possession, with the wing-backs tucking in to form a disciplined defensive block. They like to be hard to beat at home, compact and organised, looking to hit on the counter through quick transitions. It worked well domestically against lesser Austrian Bundesliga sides, but in the Champions League, pressing and defending deep are two very different problems. When AEK Athens played through them with a set piece, LASK had no answer, and if Liverpool’s quality in the final third holds up despite the absences, the Black-Whites’ defensive shape will be under serious stress all evening.
Liverpool under Iraola press aggressively and move the ball quickly, looking to get wide players — in this case, Ngumoha and Barcola — in behind the opposition’s defensive line. With LASK likely sitting in that five-at-the-back shape, there will be space to attack centrally through Wirtz, who is the creative heartbeat of this team and exactly the kind of player who punishes disorganised defences. Mac Allister will dictate tempo from deep, and if LASK try to press Liverpool high to disrupt them, they risk leaving gaps in behind that the Reds’ wide forwards will punish. Iraola will not need to overcomplicate things here — patient, incisive football should be enough.
LASK Linz vs Liverpool Prediction and Betting Tips
This one has away win written all over it. Liverpool are the significantly better side, they have a brilliant record in Austria, and LASK are coming into the game with no form, multiple injury problems, and zero European points to their name. Even with Szoboszlai, Isak, and Gakpo all absent, the quality Iraola can call upon is far superior to anything LASK can put out. Wirtz, Barcola, Ngumoha, and Mac Allister is a front-four that should cut through an Austrian side already rattled by recent results. The Reds will not always be pretty right now, but they know how to win games like this in Europe.
The tip here is Liverpool to win and both teams to score is tempting given LASK’s ability to nick something at home, but honestly, with LASK’s forwards so depleted and Liverpool’s defensive structure under Iraola being solid, backing Liverpool to win while keeping a clean sheet feels like the sharper angle. A comfortable away win, goals for Liverpool, and a quiet night for the back four is the most likely outcome.