Liverpool face a potentially difficult selection headache ahead of their Champions League trip to LASK, with eight players either unavailable, injured or ineligible for Wednesday’s encounter in Austria. Andoni Iraola’s side need a response following their disappointing defeat to Manchester City, although mounting fitness concerns could complicate preparations.

The Reds travel to Linz for their first away fixture of the 2026/27 Champions League campaign, with kick off scheduled for 5.45pm UK time on Wednesday, October 14.

Liverpool’s 3-0 defeat to Manchester City at Anfield on Sunday brought Iraola’s unbeaten start in charge to an abrupt end. Erling Haaland, Jeremy Doku and Rayan Cherki scored for the visitors, while Ryan Gravenberch’s dismissal made Liverpool’s task considerably harder.

The result followed an encouraging opening five Premier League matches under Iraola, during which Liverpool recorded two victories and three draws. Attention now turns to Europe, where the Merseyside club will look to build on their opening 2-0 Champions League victory against Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid.

However, the Liverpool manager faces several important decisions over the fitness of his squad, with the trip to Austria arriving at an awkward point in the schedule.

Giovanni Leoni, Conor Bradley and Hugo Ekitike remain unavailable because of long term injuries. Leoni is approaching a return to team training after spending more than a year recovering from an anterior cruciate ligament injury, offering some encouragement for the weeks ahead.

Liverpool’s immediate concerns centre on Alexander Isak, Cody Gakpo and Dominik Szoboszlai, all of whom missed the Manchester City defeat after sustaining injuries during the September and October international break.

Iraola has attempted to play down the severity of their respective problems, although his post match comments offered little reassurance ahead of Wednesday’s fixture. The Liverpool head coach acknowledged that it would be a surprise if any of the three recovered in time to face LASK.

From a tactical formation and squad depth perspective, "Team News: Eight Liverpool stars could miss LASK clash" carries substantial tournament implications for international seeding and domestic campaign momentum. Coaching staffs are heavily weighing high-pressing efficiency (PPDA), defensive transition pace, and fixture fatigue management.

Tactical analysts monitoring Champions League metrics emphasize that squad adaptability and set-piece execution will likely dictate outcomes in high-leverage knockout environments. Real-time match telemetry and tracking data continue to inform managerial decision-making.

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