Three days after being shut out 0-2 by Rapid Vienna at the Raiffeisen Arena, Lask Linz return to that same ground Wednesday to face a Liverpool side carrying its own bruises from a 0-3 home beating by Manchester City in the Premier League. Neither team walks into this one with any particular confidence. For Lask, still pointless in the UCL league stage after a 0-1 loss to AEK Athens on matchday 1, the task is simple and formidable at once: pick up a first European point against one of England’s biggest clubs.
What’s at stake
The UEFA Champions League has expanded its league stage to 36 teams, with 24 spots advancing to the knockout rounds. With only one matchday played, no team is under existential pressure yet, but for Lask the math is already tight. They sit with zero points and have yet to score in this competition, having lost their opener to AEK Athens. Liverpool, meanwhile, picked up three points in their first outing, a 2-1 home win over Atletico Madrid on matchday 1, and a second win here would keep them well positioned heading into the back half of the league stage.
For Lask, a win would transform their situation entirely, putting them level on points with clubs like Real Madrid and Arsenal who have each taken three from one game. A loss, and they risk falling into the group of teams who will need a near-perfect run to make the knockout rounds. For Liverpool, defeat would not be catastrophic this early, but losing away to a club of Lask’s standing would invite questions about a team that has now conceded three goals in a single Premier League match just three days ago.
How they got here
Lask’s recent five games make for difficult reading. After a 0-1 defeat to AEK Athens in Europe and a 1-2 loss at Sturm Graz in the Austrian Bundesliga, they could only draw 3-3 at Hartberg before the humbling home defeat to Rapid Vienna this past Sunday. A friendly win over First Vienna in between offers little comfort. Coach João Pedro Machado Sacramento has a team that is shipping goals and struggling to find consistency at both ends. Liverpool’s run is more mixed than their UCL standing suggests. They drew 0-0 with Fulham, beat Bournemouth 1-0 away and won the League Cup against Tottenham 3-1, but those positives were erased to some degree by the 0-3 collapse against Manchester City, a result coach Andoni Iraola will want answered quickly.
Liverpool banked three points from matchday 1 with their Atletico win. Lask have zero from one game, having failed to score. Both clubs arrive on the back of losses in their domestic leagues this past weekend, so the form picture heading into Wednesday is complicated for both dugouts.
Key battle to watch
Liverpool’s midfield options, including Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai, will look to control tempo against a Lask side that has been porous in transition. Lask’s best chance of staying in this game is through discipline and set pieces; they have struggled to build from open play in recent weeks. If Liverpool’s attacking unit, which includes Florian Wirtz, Cody Gakpo and Alexander Isak among the forwards listed in the squad, can pin Lask back early, the Austrian side will need something exceptional from goalkeeper Stefan Horvath and the defensive block in front of him to keep the score manageable.
Key Stats
Match Context
Standings
Head To Head
Our Prediction
The head-to-head record tells a stark story: Liverpool have beaten Lask 4-0 and 3-1 in their only two previous meetings, both in the 2023-24 Europa League. Even accounting for Liverpool’s poor weekend, the gap in squad depth is significant. Lask will be competitive at home and could make it uncomfortable for stretches, but Liverpool’s quality across the pitch points to a visiting win, with Andoni Iraola’s side likely to use this match as a response to the City defeat.
Liverpool
Florian Wirtz