After making a great start to their Champions League campaign in Milan, Liverpool are back in action on Wednesday and host another Italian team, Bologna, at Anfield.
Liverpool vs. Bologna
Champions League (2) | Anfield
October 2, 2024 | 8pm (BST)
Liverpool have a couple of injury issues with which to deal, but Arne Slot still has a strong squad to pick as the Reds play their second Champions League game of the season.
In a strange quirk, this will also be their fourth consecutive European game against Italian opposition, having played Atalanta twice, Milan and now Bologna.
1. Back under the lights
With the evenings growing darker and nights getting colder, there will thankfully still be at least one beacon of light in L4 this Wednesday, as the Reds host a Champions League match for the first time since February 2023.
This might not be a vintage European night as Liverpool are firm favourites and still have six games of the league phase to play after the Bologna clash.
However, it will be great nonetheless to hear the Champions League anthem played, back under the lights at Anfield.
Slot is looking forward to it, too, telling UEFA: “I know how special a home game at Feyenoord was, but the home games in Europe were even more special.
“So, because people told me it’s the same here at Liverpool, I expect a lot when we play the first game against [Bologna]. I’m definitely looking forward to my first experience of European nights, a European evening.”
2. Team news
The main news is that Federico Chiesa will not be involved as he missed training after coming in on Tuesday “with some problems.”
On the Italian, Slot added: “I’m not expecting him to be out for a very long period of time, but this game is not possible for him and we have to wait and see if he can managed to be in the team on Saturday.”
Slot’s update on Diogo Jota was more positive, though, after the Portuguese missed training.
“Diogo missed out on two sessions after the game against Wolves. He took a knock,” the coach explained.
“I’m expecting him to be with us tomorrow, that he’s available to play.”
Darwin Nunez and Andy Robertson both trained as usual but Harvey Elliott, Jayden Danns and James McConnell remain sidelined.
3. Starting XI prediction
We’ve seen so far that Slot isn’t a big fan of making changes, only properly doing so in the League Cup last week.
Having said that, this would be a good opportunity to play the likes of Cody Gakpo and Curtis Jones who certainly wouldn’t significantly weaken the team.
There is even a strong argument that Gakpo should replace Luis Diaz anyway, given the Colombian’s quiet game against Wolves on Saturday.
Starting XI prediction: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Tsimikas; Gravenberch, Jones, Mac Allister; Salah, Nunez, Gakpo
4. Bologna’s selection problems
Having sold Riccardo Calafiori and Joshua Zirkzee in the summer, Bologna aren’t quite the force they were last season that saw them fifth in Serie A to sneak into the Champions League.
Manager Vincenzo Italiano is having to cope without captain Lewis Ferguson, who has an ACL injury, as well as fellow midfielders Oussama El Azzouzi and Tommaso Pobega.
This season, they have managed just one win in seven games so far, but did show promise at the weekend as, with 10 men, they almost scraped a win over Atalanta before the Europa League champions made it 1-1 in injury time.
The Italians’ biggest threat against Liverpool should be on the flanks, with both Dan Ndoye and Riccardo Orsolini very much capable of beating their man.
5. Show Europe they “missed us!”
In his pre-match press conference, Slot called upon the supporters and players to make Wednesday night an occasion.
“What I expect from our players, they’ve missed out on Champions League for a year so when they step out on the pitch tomorrow, I want to see this,” he said.
“I want to feel this that they feel like, ‘Ah, we missed this for a season’.
“Now, a club of this standard, we have to be ready and I’m hoping and expecting from our fans. They’ve missed out on Champions League for a season and I’m hoping that they feel this desire to show to Europe again, ‘Ah, you missed us because of this!’”
6. Alisson’s birthday landmark
Alisson is in line to make his 50th European appearance for the Reds and celebrates his 32nd birthday on the day of the game!
This is the eighth successive season in which the Reds have faced Italian opposition. Home and away, they have faced clubs from Italy 42 times, winning 20 and losing 18.
At Anfield, Liverpool have met Italian clubs 18 times, winning 10, drawing one and losing seven.
6. The other fixtures
While our concentration will be on events in Liverpool, there will be plenty of other Champions League action happening across the continent on Wednesday night.
Notably, Aston Villa host Bayern Munich in a re-run of the 1982 final that Villa famously won 1-0 at Feyenoord’s ground, De Kuip, in Rotterdam.
Elsewhere, it is worth keeping an eye on RB Leipzig’s performance against Juventus, as Liverpool’s next European match will be against them in Germany.
7. Mac Allister weighs in on workload issue
The issue of players being overworked across the year has been in the spotlight of late, with Rodri speaking particularly strongly on the topic, and Alexis Mac Allister has become the latest player asked for his opinion.
Before the Bologna match, the Argentine said: “I don’t think there is much to add.
“The only thing I can say is that we all love playing football and yes, we are tired, there is a lot of games, but the only thing I could say or I want to say is that we need more communication between all the parties, between players managers and everyone.
“I think that’s the only way to go forward and that’s what the players ask.”
8. Who is the referee?
There will be a Montenegrin officiating team at Anfield for this one, with Nikola Dabanovic taking charge in the middle – this will be just his second Champions League proper game as a referee.
His assistants will be Vladan Todorovic and Srdan Jovanovic, while Milos Boskovic takes on fourth-official duties.
The lead VAR is Tomasz Kwiatkowski from Poland.
9. Follow the match with TIA
Liverpool vs. Bologna is live on TNT Sports 2 with kickoff at 8pm (BST).
TIA’s matchday live blog will be up and running from 7.15pm, with Harry McMullen tasked with keeping you entertained and up-to-date.
Come on you Reds!
