- 1 LASK vs Liverpool: a wounded favourite against a home side that can’t find the net
- 2 LASK: Austrian champions with a crowd behind them and no goals in front of them
- 3 Liverpool: four games in ten days, three key attackers doubtful, and a point to prove after City
- 4 Free Champions League Prediction: LASK vs Liverpool
- 5 About our free predictions
- 6 No commitment from us
- 7 Information changes
- 8 Your responsibility
- 9 Responsible gambling
- 10 Legal age
- 11 About visuals
LASK vs Liverpool: a wounded favourite against a home side that can’t find the net 
Three days before the trip to Linz, Liverpool were taken apart 3-0 by Manchester City at Anfield. Gravenberch was sent off, the crowd went quiet, and Andoni Iraola walked into his press conference with an injury list that’s getting longer by the week. It’s not the build-up anyone at the club wanted.
The data paints a specific picture here, though, and it isn’t all bad news for the visitors. Liverpool opened their league phase by coming from behind to beat Atletico Madrid 2-1, with Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister on target. They’ve won four of their last six games. And the City defeat came with ten men for a large part of the afternoon.
LASK are the problem Liverpool would have picked. The Austrian champions, who ended a wait of more than six decades for the title last season, have scored in only one of their last three Champions League outings. That one was the extraordinary 5-1 extra-time comeback against Celtic after losing the first leg 3-0 in Glasgow. Since then, they’ve lost 1-0 at AEK Athens on matchday one and 2-0 to Rapid Vienna after the international break.
Zero goals in their last two competitive games. That’s the side Liverpool face on Wednesday (18:45 Paris time).
The Raiffeisen Arena is sold out, and the atmosphere will be loud. But atmosphere doesn’t put the ball in the net. Can LASK find a way through a Liverpool side that’s bruised but still has Florian Wirtz and Mac Allister in the middle of the pitch?
These clubs met twice in the Europa League in 2023. Liverpool won both. The gap in quality hasn’t closed since.
LASK: Austrian champions with a crowd behind them and no goals in front of them 
The 1-0 loss in Athens on matchday one summed up where LASK are right now. Marin scored for AEK after 22 minutes and the Austrians had the rest of the game to respond. They didn’t. Not a single goal.
That’s become a pattern. Two of their last three league matches have ended in defeat, the latest a 2-0 loss to Rapid Vienna. And the Celtic comeback, as remarkable as it was, now looks more like an outlier than a sign of things to come.
Samuel Adeniran is their most direct route to goal, with two goals from 16 shots in the Champions League so far, and he’s back after recovering from a broken cheekbone. Sascha Horvath is the creative hub, with 12 chances created this season. Without those two clicking, the supply line dries up quickly.
There are fitness questions too. Moses Usor was forced off just 12 minutes after coming on against Rapid, and George Bello also went off with a knock. Both are doubtful. LASK can ill afford to lose wide players against a Liverpool side that will look to stretch them.
The set-up will be a back three with Bogarde screening in front, and the plan is obvious: stay compact, keep it tight for as long as possible, and hope the home crowd carries them into the last 20 minutes. It’s a reasonable plan. It’s also the plan of a team that doesn’t expect to score much.
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Liverpool: four games in ten days, three key attackers doubtful, and a point to prove after City 
Iraola didn’t sugarcoat it. Szoboszlai returned from international duty with what he called an “overload” in his hamstring and missed the City game entirely. Alexander Isak and Cody Gakpo both remain sidelined, and the manager admitted it would be difficult to have any of the three ready with just two days of preparation. Young forward Lewis Koumas was asked to fill the gap against City.
That’s a serious dent in the attack. Isak and Gakpo are two of the side’s main goal threats, and Szoboszlai scored the opener against Atletico. Losing all three at once doesn’t happen often.
And yet the spine is still strong. Alisson, van Dijk and Mac Allister give this team a level of control LASK simply can’t match, and Wirtz remains the player who unlocks deep defences. Ngumoha’s pace on the flank is exactly what a back three hates.
The bigger issue has been consistency. Liverpool finished fifth last season, Slot was dismissed in the summer, and Iraola has had his own wobbles early on: seven goals in six Premier League games isn’t the output of a dominant side. The City result made that clear.
Here’s the thing, though. Liverpool have three points from matchday one and a fixture that, on paper, is one of the most winnable in their league phase. After Saturday, there’s no better place to respond than against a side that hasn’t scored in two games.
Probable lineup LASK: Jungwirth; Andrade, Alemao, Mbuyamba; Bogarde; Bello, Jorgensen, Horvath, Ljubicic; Lang, Usor
Probable lineup Liverpool: Not confirmed at time of publication (Szoboszlai, Isak and Gakpo doubtful). Expected core: Alisson; Kerkez, van Dijk, Jacquet, Araujo; Mac Allister; Ngumoha, Wirtz, Barcola
Free Champions League Prediction: LASK vs Liverpool
Our prediction: Liverpool to win with a -1.5 handicap @ 1.75
A straight Liverpool win is priced around 1.27, so the value sits in the margin. LASK have failed to score in their last two competitive games and in two of their last three Champions League outings. Their two main wide options, Usor and Bello, are both carrying knocks. A side in that state rarely keeps a top Premier League attack quiet for 90 minutes, even a depleted one.
Liverpool’s injuries are real, but this is still a team with Wirtz, Mac Allister and van Dijk on the pitch, coming off a defeat that will have stung. Their 2-1 comeback against Atletico showed they can respond when they fall behind, and against a LASK side whose plan is to sit deep and survive, the chances should keep coming.
The bottom line: Liverpool by two or more goals at 1.75. LASK’s attack hasn’t done enough to suggest they’ll trouble Alisson, and once the first goal goes in, the gap in quality should show.
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