How Liverpool could line up against Union SG

Liverpool will be without six injured players for Thursday's trip to Belgian club Union SG in the Europa League group stage.

Jurgen Klopp has confirmed that Alexis Mac Allister is ruled out for the midweek fixture and Sunday's Premier League clash with Manchester United due to a knee injury, while Joel Matip (knee), Diogo Jota (muscle), Andrew Robertson (shoulder), Thiago Alcantara (hip) and Stefan Bajcetic (calf) all remain sidelined with long-term problems.

Liverpool have already qualified for the last 16 as Group E winners, and Klopp has decided to leave several star names at home, with Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Alisson Becker not selected in the 23-man travelling squad to Belgium.

The likes of Luis Diaz, Dominik Szoboszlai, Darwin Nunez, Ibrahima Konate and Joe Gomez will be available for selection, though, withe the latter two in contention to start in defence in front of goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher, who is likely to start between the sticks in the absence of Alisson.

Wataru Endo could retain his place in the deep-lying midfield role in the absence of Mac Allister, while Curtis Jones will be hoping to force his way into the first XI at the expense of either Szoboszlai or Ryan Gravenberch, the latter of whom scored his first Liverpool goal in a 2-0 home win over Union SG in September.

Harvey Elliott, who scored a stoppage-time winner in Liverpool's 2-1 success at Crystal Palace last weekend, is another option to start in midfield, but the 20-year-old could take the place of Salah on the right side of attack.

Kaide Gordon, Ben Doak, Conor Bradley, Calum Scanlon, James McConnell and Tom Hill are among the Under-21 players seeking to gain valuable first-team minutes on Thursday.

Liverpool possible starting lineup: Kelleher; Gomez, Konate, Quansah, Tsimikas; Gravenberch, Endo, Jones; Elliott, Nunez, Diaz