The main story on transfer deadline day was that Liverpool got a deal for Dutch midfielder Ryan Gravenberch over the line, but on a busy Friday, Jürgen Klopp also held a press conference and the Europa League draw took place.
While Liverpool would much rather have been in Thursday evening’s Champions League draw, Klopp’s side can also take some positives from the fact that it will be playing in a different competition this time around.
Out of the hat came LASK, the side who finished third in the Austrian Bundesliga last season and currently sits fifth, Royale Union Saint-Gilloise, currently fifth in the Belgian Pro League, and Toulouse, who came 13th in Ligue 1 last season but qualified by winning the Coupe de France. Toulouse is in the bottom half in France again after the first three fixtures of 2023/24.
In those teams, Liverpool has a group that should be easily taken care of. Klopp will be afforded the chance to rotate and make changes and his side should still get through comfortably. Indeed, the biggest winners of the draw could be Ben Doak and Bobby Clark, though Mohamed Salah might also be eyeing up a chance to inflate his goal tally.
The opportunity to make changes to his starting line-up is an important point for Klopp. It is a luxury that he has not been afforded in recent seasons thanks to being in the Champions League, where progression is considerably tougher. It will also be a lot easier to convince his biggest stars to put their feet up for matches with substantially less prestige attached.
There is no reason, for example, as long as Liverpool has enough bodies in its defense, that Virgil van Dijk needs to take part in any group games. The same can be said for the likes of Andy Robertson — and ideally Salah — and that might not have been true had Liverpool been drawn in a harder group, perhaps facing someone like Sporting CP.
That would mean keeping those key men fresher for Premier League fixtures, and the order of matches, which has now been confirmed by UEFA, means that Liverpool has a further advantage there as well.
In addition to having been drawn in a fairly comfortable-looking group, Liverpool has also had the benefit of playing fixtures in an order that should suit the Reds.
Europa League fixture dates in full
LASK (A) – September 21
Union SG (H) – October 5
Toulouse (H) – October 26
Toulouse (A) – November 9
LASK (H) – November 30
Union SG (A) – December 14
After the first match of the group, Liverpool has a home game against West Ham (David Moyes’ side plays Bačka Topola in their opening European fixture), while a tricky-looking game away at Brighton is preceded by the Europa League home game with Union SG. Brighton has a much harder away game at Marseille.
The next three Liverpool games in the Europa League are followed by Anfield league matches (against Nottingham Forest, Brentford and Fulham respectively) before the final game of the group, away at Union SG, comes before the trip to Old Trafford to face Manchester United.
By that time, Liverpool will hope the top spot is already successfully sealed, while Manchester United hosts Bayern Munich. That Champions League clash is two days earlier but it is a heavyweight battle — and one that Erik ten Hag’s side might need to win in order to progress to the knockout phase.
In short, Liverpool faces a plethora of advantages. Klopp will be able to rotate while still being able to top the group (finishing first is important to avoid playing an extra knockout round in the new year) and the fixtures for the Reds are positioned nicely around trickier games for Premier League opponents also in European competition.
The Europa League is not the competition that Liverpool wanted to be playing in this season, but now that it is happening, the triple boost of the weakened caliber of opposition allowing for rotation and young players to develop, the order of the fixtures, and the commitments of domestic rivals that it plays around the group stage could not have fallen much more favorably.
