Liverpool Start Three Academy Players Against LASK in Champions League
Liverpool named its lineup for the Champions League match against LASK at Raiffeisen Arena, with Kostas Tsimikas wearing the captain’s armband. Jeremie…
Liverpool have turned to academy players for their Champions League trip to Austria, with the lineup carrying extra weight after a demanding run of matches. For lask vs liverpool at Raiffeisen Arena, Kostas Tsimikas captains the Reds and Jeremie Frimpong joins the defence.
Trey Nyoni and Rio Ngumoha also start, while Milos Kerkez, Alexis Mac Allister, Victor Munoz and Virgil van Dijk make way. Liverpool’s confirmed team is Alisson, Jacquet, Wirtz, Tsimikas, Barcola, Frimpong, Araujo, Gravenberch, Nyoni, Koumas and Ngumoha.
The selection puts several young players into a Champions League starting lineup. Their performances could shape Liverpool’s approach to the match, while the changes leave experienced names among the substitutes.
Short on ceremony. The team is set.
lask vs liverpool: Iraola backs young starters
Manager Andoni Iraola told TNT Sport before kick-off that Nyoni, Lewis Koumas and Ngumoha were ready to contribute despite their age and academy backgrounds.
“For me Trey [Nyoni], [Lewis] Koumas and Rio [Ngumoha] are young players coming in from the academy but they are first team players,” Iraola said.
He said injuries and the short turnaround after Liverpool played three days earlier informed his decision. “They are first team players because we trust them, and in our situation, where we have some injuries, and we come from playing three days ago. I think they can play well, and I hope they do well.”
That explanation gives the selection a practical edge: the manager is relying on players he says the club already trusts, rather than treating the starts as a symbolic opportunity. For Liverpool, their roles also matter because the team is playing away in the Champions League, where Iraola said points are costly.
“Confidence, and especially the points, because this is the Champions League and in the Champions League it's very costly, especially away from home, where we have to be ready to play very well,” he said. “We won the first game, let's win today and put ourselves in a better position.”
Changed lineup, experienced options on bench
Tsimikas takes the captaincy, while Van Dijk and Mac Allister are among the senior players not in the starting eleven. The club’s lineup announcement also identifies Frimpong as a defensive change and confirms starts for Nyoni and Ngumoha.
Liverpool’s substitutes are Mamardashvili, Woodman, Gomez, Van Dijk, Kerkez, Mac Allister, Munoz, Chambers, McConnell, Danns, Sonni-Lambie and Lucky. The list keeps several players who made way available from the bench.
The match is being played at Raiffeisen Arena in Linz, Austria. BBC live coverage described the fixture as the first Champions League league-phase game at the stadium, with LASK hosting Liverpool.
Iraola said a strong result would bring confidence as well as points. Liverpool have named Nyoni and Ngumoha among their eleven starters.
Source: liverpoolfc.com
