Georginio Wijnaldum is available to return for Liverpool in Tuesday’s Champions League tie at Salzburg.

Jürgen Klopp explained how Liverpool's Champions League showdown with Salzburg is the 'most important game in our lives' simply because it's the next one on the fixture list.

Jordan Henderson has detailed Liverpool's focus on sealing qualification for the Champions League last 16 with a positive result against Salzburg.

The Reds captain spoke to the media during a press conference in Austria on the eve of the final match of Group E.

A draw or win would see Henderson’s side into the knockout stages of a competition they won last season and he explained why the tie represents the ‘biggest’ game of the campaign so far.

The skipper also discussed what Liverpool learned from the thrilling 4-3 victory over Salzburg at Anfield, the recent rotation of the team, Sadio Mane’s form and more…

On tackling incidents of racism in football…

It’s a topic that we’re probably speaking about a little bit too much at the minute, especially what I’ve experienced recently on international duty. It’s obviously not a nice topic to speak about but it’s one that we need to come together as players, clubs and supporters and stand together to fight it; stronger punishments, more education. It’s obviously a problem that we can’t pretend is just happening in every other country and not in ours, it’s happening everywhere really. We need to try to fight it as best as we can.

On the Premier League title race…

Well, I only like looking to the next game, to be honest. You might be bored of me saying that but that’s the truth. The next game is the most important game and the biggest game of the season, which is tomorrow night. That’s all the focus is on. We know it’ll be a difficult game and a tough challenge for us, so we need to be 100 per cent focused on that to go out and give everything to get into the next round.

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On the pressure involved with trying to seal qualification…

I think it’s the same. We need to perform, we need to get a result to get through to the next round, which we’ve proven we can do before. But that doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy and we’re going to do it again. But we can learn from those experiences and we know what we need to do. We know it’ll be difficult but we also have confidence in our own ability. I feel as though if we perform to the level that we have been, and we’re capable of, then we can get a good result.

On what Liverpool learned from the first meeting with Salzburg…

They’re a very dangerous side, you can see that from the campaign they’ve had and from the game we played at Anfield. They can hurt you on the counter-attack, defensively organised, good from set-pieces – so they’re very dangerous. We’ve obviously looked back on that game and looked at things we need to improve on, and hopefully we can do that tomorrow night.

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On recent changes showing the strength of the Reds squad…

We have got great strength in depth in the squad. We have been making changes and that hasn’t affected performances, that’s the most important thing. We just want to continue on that path, we’ve got a lot of games in a short space of time so we’re going to need everybody. So far it has worked really well, so we just want to continue that and keep giving everything for the team.

On whether this is the point of the tournament when the players start feeling ‘greedy’ for the trophy…

We want to continue to show how well we can play and how much we can improve as a team. We still want to keep getting better, we still want to perform at a high level. That’s always going to be the case, no matter what competition it is. Every single game is the next biggest game for us and the next biggest challenge. Tomorrow night is a big challenge for us as a team and we want to go out there and show what we’re capable of doing.

On what it’s like to play with Mane…

Amazing, of course, not only Sadio but every other player. We’ve got so much talent in the squad and Sadio has been outstanding for a long period of time now. He just needs to continue in that form. He is a fantastic person off the pitch, works really hard and dedicates his life to football. It’s great to see him doing as well as he can. We just want to see him continue in that form and keep doing what he’s been doing for a long period of time now.

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Jordan Henderson has detailed Liverpool's focus on sealing qualification for the Champions League last 16 with a positive result against Salzburg.

Jürgen Klopp and Jordan Henderson held a press conference to preview the Champions League showdown with Salzburg - and you can watch it again now.

The Liverpool manager and captain took questions from journalists at the Stadion Salzburg ahead of Tuesday's fixture in matchday six.

Watch the media briefing in full below...

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Jürgen Klopp and Jordan Henderson held a press conference to preview the Champions League showdown with Salzburg - and you can watch it again now.

Shortly after touching down in Austria, Liverpool players took a short walk around the Red Bull Arena - the venue for Tuesday evening's crucial Champions League tie with Salzburg.

The squad landed from their flight from John Lennon Airport shortly after 6pm local time and made the short journey to the stadium to take in the surroundings.

It's a venue that, of course, is familiar to Sadio Mane and Naby Keita, both of whom used to represent Die Mozartstädter.

Check out our gallery from the Red Bull Arena below.

Photos by Andrew Powell

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Shortly after touching down in Austria, Liverpool players took a short walk around the Red Bull Arena - the venue for Tuesday evening's crucial Champions League tie with Salzburg.

Liverpool are prepared for 'a final' against Salzburg as Champions League Group E concludes with everything still to play for on Tuesday night.

Jürgen Klopp’s side lead the section ahead of its last matchday and know a draw or win will guide them into the knockout stages of Europe’s top club competition for a third successive season.

Their opponents, meanwhile, still have a chance to progress – with a result that betters the Reds’ 4-3 win in the reverse fixture their only guarantee of qualification.

Klopp insists his team have been considering the decider at Red Bull Arena a final ever since Napoli denied them a last-16 spot a fortnight ago.

“It is exactly like it is. We drew the last game and after that game, Napoli were for sure in a better mood than we were – and Salzburg were in the best mood for sure, they won their away game and knew they could go to the next round by their own doing,” the manager told Liverpoolfc.com onboard the flight to Austria.

“But, how it always is, there were two weeks between the two games – the last one and the one tomorrow. And, day by day, everybody realised more there is still a game to play.

“We knew that first because we knew immediately after the Napoli game we have a final, and we have to make sure we are prepared for a final.

“We always had to do it the hard way, I can’t remember one time when it was, ‘Oh fine, done’ a week before. We are at least used to that.

“But it’s still a job to do, Salzburg are really strong. But, good news, we are strong as well and that’s what we have to show tomorrow night.”

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Klopp went on to explain that Liverpool have no alternative but to approach the tie, which kicks off at 5.55pm GMT, with the aim of winning it.

“One thing is clear: Salzburg have to win. That’s the only really clear thing before the game. That sets the mark for the game as well,” he continued.

“Of course, we don’t know exactly how they will approach it but anyway it’s clear they want to win. But that means they have to beat us and that’s not so easy – and we should use that fact as well.

“But of course, we will not go for a point, I actually have no clue how that works. We will try to win with all we have and at the end we will see what happens.”

The boss used the depth of his squad last week as the Reds followed up a hard-fought victory over Brighton and Hove Albion with a 5-2 Merseyside derby triumph and a commanding 3-0 win at Bournemouth.

He made five changes for the visit of Everton and then seven on the south coast, and saw his faith rewarded by goals from Divock Origi, Xherdan Shaqiri, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita.

A 19-man travelling group, including Dejan Lovren and Georginio Wijnaldum after minor issues, set off for Salzburg on Monday and Klopp hopes that recent rotation can be beneficial in Austria.

“Of course it’s nice when the boys can contribute like they did, but of course that’s the plan all the time,” said the manager.

“Being part of that squad should give you enough confidence to perform but of course it’s slightly difficult when you are not used that much for different reasons, they all had different reasons.

“Coming on, there is some pressure, to be honest. I always try to get the pressure out of the way if you want, but there is still some pressure and the boys did it excellently.

“It helped a lot all the fresh legs that we’ve brought in, that was the most important thing: the fresh legs brought real freshness on the pitch, all of them. When Ox started the game before, you could really see a lively figure in the game.

“These things help a lot and we have to use that as often as we can because there are no advantages really in any competition, but if you can bring in high-quality players with fresh legs, that can be.”

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Liverpool are prepared for 'a final' against Salzburg as Champions League Group E concludes with everything still to play for on Tuesday night.

Jürgen Klopp has confirmed that Dejan Lovren and Georginio Wijnaldum are fit to face Salzburg, while Adam Lallana is expected to return to full training on Thursday.

Lovren was withdrawn in the first half of Saturday’s 3-0 win at Bournemouth, with Wijnaldum and Lallana missing that trip to the south coast due to minor knocks.

Both Lovren and Wijnaldum have recovered, though, and were named in Liverpool’s 19-man travelling squad for Tuesday’s Champions League tie at Red Bull Arena.

However, Lallana has remained on Merseyside with a view to being able to train with his teammates again ahead of the weekend meeting with Watford.

“Gini and Dejan are completely fine,” Klopp told Liverpoolfc.com onboard the Reds’ flight to Austria.

“We had pretty much a free choice apart from Adam. Adam is not coming but will be back in training on Thursday. Under pressure we probably could have used him, but we didn’t want to make pressure. How I said, it’s a small thing.

“It would have been maybe a risk or not [to consider Lallana against Salzburg], I’m not sure, but we decided to leave him at Melwood and then he can train with the team from Thursday on. 

“He had a proper session today, will have a proper session tomorrow and then Thursday he can be with the team.”

When asked whether he has an update on the recoveries of Fabinho and Joel Matip, the boss replied: “Not really, but we didn’t ask really - there is no pressure from my side. 

“It’s clear they will not be in before Christmas; not this year, actually. So why should we ask every five seconds if there’s some improvement or not? 

“I know everybody involved is doing whatever they can. There will be a moment when somebody comes to me and tells me, ‘One week for him, two weeks for him’ and I’ll start telling you.”

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Jürgen Klopp has confirmed that Dejan Lovren and Georginio Wijnaldum are fit to face Salzburg, while Adam Lallana is expected to return to full training on Thursday.

Liverpool travel to Austria next for our final Champions League group game; here’s all the build-up plus the other news regarding the Reds.

Gini back, Lovren fit, Reds ready for Salzburg

All the focus very quickly moved away from an easy weekend win, and straight on to our next game: a crucial tie at Salzburg.

Jurgen Klopp‘s press conference is this evening—all the coverage will be here on This Is Anfield from 6:30pm—but even before that we have news after the pre-game training session.

Adam Lallana trained alone, but Gini Wijnaldum and Dejan Lovren returned—check out the best photos here.

The squad to travel to Austria was confirmed shortly afterward and Curtis Jones has been retained after his league debut at the weekend.

Meanwhile, here’s the latest on our opponents and Salzburg’s weekend win.

Fan zone details for Doha

Heading to Qatar to cheer on the Reds at the Club World Cup? FIFA have confirmed plans for a Fan Zone in Doha, a free-to-enter zone running from 9 to 21 December.

It will be at the Doha Sports Park, next to the Doha Golf Club, and will be open from 2pm to midnight each day—where fans can take advantage of local and international cuisine, live matches being shown on the big screens and plenty of music.

The likes of Jamie Webster, Space, the Tea Street Band and others will feature from 18-21 December—while the Reds are in action, essentially—and more details on the fan zone can be found here.

Just don’t wear your lucky, non-approved, betting company-sponsored underwear, as you know what FIFA are like with that sort of thing.

Keep an eye on the short-term and the long

Yes, our focus is and must be on Tuesday’s big game. But Liverpool’s quest for trophies and dominance is ongoing and never-ending, so we must look further afield, too.

Curtis Jones earning his rewards

Curtis Jones made his Premier League debut at the weekend, coming on for Andy Robbo in the final 15 minutes of the win at Bournemouth. He would have had about five minutes more, mind, but for the Reds’ fantastic ability to retain possession for ages at a time.

The boss was happy with the teenager’s contribution, but stressed that it was a tactical decision because of what Jones can offer, rather than a throwaway appearance to get him on the gametime ladder.

“It was his third time in the squad, so then I thought it makes sense to bring him on.

“But it was not a present, I have to say. It’s his development. We want to show respect for that and we appreciate that.

“Then you need a player and today we were without Adam and Gini here. We thought we need a midfielder because we want to rest Robbo a little bit, so move Millie there. That’s then a good choice.”

Hopefully there’s plenty more action ahead for a player who looks the part both technically and tactically.

Quickfire LFC news

• In the search for the Reds’ goal of the decade, the corker-strewn year of 2013 is up for vote today. How do you choose between all those Sturridge and Suarez goals?! (LiverpoolFC.com)

• Former Netherlands manager Danny Blind says Sadio Mane is the perfect modern player, comparing him to Cristiano Ronaldo for technical and physical traits (Mirror)

• Bobby Duncan’s agent was very loud over the summer. So loud in fact that Saif Rubie landed himself a £10k fine and a ban from acting as an intermediary (Jacob Steinberg)

• And the Reds have officially made the best-ever start to a league season in England, eclipsing Chelsea 05/06 and Man City 18/19 after 16 games (Mail)

Around the Prem

• Pep Guardiola says maybe City “need to accept” they can’t compete with the top teams anymore and must “improve”. Does “improve” include another £400 million spending spree, by any chance? (BBC Sport)

• Everton fans are being investigated by the police, Kick It Out and their own club after reports of homophobic chants aimed at Chelsea fans (BBC Sport)

• Aston Villa want to sign Pedro from Chelsea in January, in a rare rumour which would make sense for all three parties (Telegraph)

• And ex-Bayern boss Niko Kovac wants to take over at Arsenal and will be watching the Gunners on Monday night against West Ham. Standby for Tuesday headlines saying he’s changed his mind (Goal)

Stupid rumour of the day

Arsenal have discovered the route to success and ending their abysmal defensive record: sign Chris Smalling!

The Mirror reckons the Gunners have decided that the memories of nearly a decade of average performances in the Premier League have been wiped out by five months doing well in Serie A with Roma.

Then again, it’s Arsenal—they might be right…

Tweet of the day

Next up on our Goal of the Decade list, it's 2013… ???

Get voting! ?

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) December 9, 2019

What we’re reading

On the Guardian, the circumstances and the fallout around Russia being banned from international sport – including the 2022 World Cup.

And on the Athletic by Rafa Honigstein, a look at how it’s Borussia Moenchengladbach who are sounding the message that Bayern Munich’s Bundesliga stranglehold is over.

Worth watching tonight

Premier League, West Ham vs. Arsenal at 8pm. One manager under pressure, one caretaker manager in a battle to win a job.

LFC Retro Collection Released

Liverpool have unveiled their new Retro Collection of nostalgic track jackets and shirts.

Featuring remakes of kits of the 1980s and 1990s, the likes of Mohamed Salah, Fabinho and Divock Origi were on hand to model the new range.

* Click here to see the full Liverpool FC Retro Collection and order in time for Christmas.

Support our independent LFC content with This Is Anfield Premium:
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Try free for 30 days: https://t.co/ixqexCu1FQ

— This Is Anfield (@thisisanfield) December 9, 2019

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Charlie Nicholas

Football Expert

Chelsea vs Lille and Red Bull Salzburg vs Liverpool on Tuesday; Bayern Munich vs Spurs and Dinamo Zagreb vs Man City on Wednesday

Last Updated: 09/12/19 4:53pm

Charlie Nicholas returns with his latest round of Champions League predictions with Chelsea, Liverpool, Tottenham and Manchester City all in action.

Red Bull Salzburg vs Liverpool - Tuesday, 5.55pm

If Red Bull Salzburg win, Liverpool are out. They will go for it - we saw that at Anfield. Liverpool had a comfortable afternoon at the weekend against Bournemouth.

Naby Keita played and scored, and Jurgen Klopp has freshened it up the best he can. A draw will be enough for them, but it will be a very nervous night for Liverpool nevertheless.

CHARLIE PREDICTS: 2-2 (10/1 with Sky Bet)

2:53 FREE TO WATCH: Highlights from Liverpool's win over Bournemouth in the Premier League FREE TO WATCH: Highlights from Liverpool's win over Bournemouth in the Premier League Chelsea vs Lille - Tuesday, 8pm

Chelsea just need a win really. I see this being a bit like the Liverpool match. You can end up forcing it and caught up in the emotions of it. I think the young heads will be OK though and I see Chelsea getting there, but I don't see this happening until later on in the contest.

CHARLIE PREDICTS: 2-0 (11/2 with Sky Bet)

2:58 FREE TO WATCH: Highlights from Everton's win over Chelsea in the Premier League FREE TO WATCH: Highlights from Everton's win over Chelsea in the Premier League Dinamo Zagreb vs Manchester City - Wednesday, 5.55pm

I imagine Pep Guardiola will make a lot of changes. The job is done. He will still be quite angry at some of the players - they have looked uninspiring. Kevin De Bruyne is carrying them on his own at times, while John Stones was dealt with another injury.

They should be more than good enough to win but I think Manchester City are having a reality check at the moment. Is this really the competition they have to win? The answer is yes. Take a score draw, get home and wait for the draw.

CHARLIE PREDICTS: 1-1 (7/1 with Sky Bet)

2:54 FREE TO WATCH: Highlights from Manchester United's win over Manchester City in the Premier League FREE TO WATCH: Highlights from Manchester United's win over Manchester City in the Premier League Bayern Munich vs Tottenham - Wednesday, 8pm

Why wouldn't Jose Mourinho fancy this one? He got the defence sorted a bit better against Burnley, but the attackers were great. They do this naturally. He just needs to pick who is on form, the likes of Dele Alli, Heung-Min Son and Harry Kane, and off they go.

2:59 FREE TO WATCH: Highlights from Tottenham's win over Burnley in the Premier League FREE TO WATCH: Highlights from Tottenham's win over Burnley in the Premier League

They were embarrassed by Bayern Munich last time and the Germans are through. They might want this, just in case they face off once again in the knockout stages, so they may want to humiliate them again.

I think they will want to beat them and give them a nudge as to who is the bigger giant in Europe. Tottenham made the final last season so teams want to knock them down. Mourinho will fancy his side but he will make some changes.

CHARLIE PREDICTS: 2-1 (8/1 with Sky Bet)

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Liverpool departed Merseyside on Monday afternoon ahead of their Champions League encounter at Salzburg – and our photographer was with the team at John Lennon Airport.

After continuing their preparations with a training session at Melwood, the Reds boarded a plane bound for Austria.

Take a look at the squad's departure below...

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Liverpool departed Merseyside on Monday afternoon ahead of their Champions League encounter at Salzburg – and our photographer was with the team at John Lennon Airport.

Highlights of Liverpool U18s' 5-1 win away at Derby County on Saturday are now available to watch on LFCTV GO.

Despite going a goal down, Barry Lewtas' charges responded superbly as they bounced back from their FA Youth Cup exit at Tottenham Hotspur in style.

Jake Cain netted twice with Fidel O'Rourke, Layton Stewart and an own goal on the mark.

Click play above to watch highlights of the game via LFCTV GO. Sign up now and claim your first month free.

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Highlights of Liverpool U18s' 5-1 win away at Derby County on Saturday are now available to watch on LFCTV GO.

Follow the Champions League clash, which kicks off at 5.55pm, with our live blog on the Sky Sports website and app

Last Updated: 09/12/19 4:10pm

Georginio Wijnaldum could return for Liverpool on Tuesday

Team news, stats and prediction as Liverpool travel to Red Bull Salzburg in the Champions League.

Team news

Dejan Lovren has trained with the Liverpool squad ahead of their final Champions League group match against Red Bull Salzburg after being substituted with an injury during the first half of Liverpool's 3-0 win over Bournemouth on Saturday.

Georginio Wijnaldum and Adam Lallana could also return against Salzburg after missing the win over Bournemouth.

Wijnaldum trained with the rest of the Liverpool squad on Monday after recovering from a "minor knock", while Lallana trained separately from the group after coming off with cramp in the recent 5-2 win over Everton.

2:53 FREE TO WATCH: Highlights from Liverpool's win over Bournemouth in the Premier League FREE TO WATCH: Highlights from Liverpool's win over Bournemouth in the Premier League

However, Liverpool will be without injured centre-back Joel Matip, who remains sidelined with a knee problem and has not featured for the team since October 20.

Red Bull Salzburg are set to be without Alexander Walke, Antoine Bernede, Patrick Farkas and Sekou Koita.

State of play

Liverpool need just a draw against Red Bull Salzburg to go through to the last 16 and could also qualify with a defeat if Napoli lose at home to bottom of the table Genk.

Should Liverpool lose in Austria, Salzburg are likely to go through, unless Liverpool score four or more away goals after Jurgen Klopp's side won 4-3 when the two sides met at Anfield last month.

Opta stats Dejan Lovren came off in the first half with an injury, but should be fit for the Champions League

• This will be the second competitive meeting between FC Salzburg and Liverpool, following their clash on MD2 in which the Reds won 4-3, despite leading 3-0 after 36 minutes at Anfield.
• Liverpool have won five of their seven games against Austrian sides in all European competition (W5 D1 L1), losing only to Grazer AK in a Champions League qualifier in August 2004.
• FC Salzburg have lost four of their five matches against English opposition in all European competition, conceding at least twice in every match (13 in total). At home, Salzburg drew 2-2 vs Blackburn in September 2006 (UEFA Cup) and lost 0-2 vs Man City in September 2010 (Europa League).
• Liverpool have only won two of their last 11 Champions League away group stage games (W2 D3 L6), losing four of the last five (W1). The Reds last won consecutive away group games in the competition back in September 2008 under Rafa Benitez.
• FC Salzburg have won 15 and lost just one of their last 20 home games in European competition (inc. qualifiers), with that defeat coming last time out on home soil vs Napoli.
• Neither Liverpool or FC Red Bull Salzburg have kept a UEFA Champions League clean sheet this season. The Reds could become only the second reigning champion to fail to keep a clean sheet in their first six matches of the following campaign, after Real Madrid in 2016-17 (first 10 games).

Erling Braut Haaland scored against Liverpool in a 4-3 loss earlier this season

• FC Salzburg striker Erling Haaland has scored in all five of his UEFA Champions League games so far, scoring eight goals and averaging a goal every 37 minutes. No player has ever scored in their first six appearances in the competition.
• Since the start of the 2017-18 campaign, the two players with the most UEFA Champions League assists are Liverpool duo Roberto Firmino and James Milner with 11 each.
• Only Spurs (17) and Bayern Munich (21) have scored more goals than FC Red Bull Salzburg (16) this season. Since 2003-04, the most goals scored by a side in the group stage to be eliminated is 16 scored by Chelsea in the 2012-13 campaign - they went on to win the Europa League.
• Liverpool conceded three goals from five shots on target on MD2 against FC Salzburg; the most goals they've conceded against an opponent in the Champions League group stage is five, against Galatasaray in 2006-07 and Sevilla in 2017-18.

Charlie Nicholas' prediction

If Red Bull Salzburg win, Liverpool are out. They will go for it - we saw that at Anfield. Liverpool had a comfortable afternoon at the weekend against Bournemouth.

Naby Keita played and scored, and Jurgen Klopp has freshened it up the best he can. A draw will be enough for them, but it will be a very nervous night for Liverpool nevertheless.

CHARLIE PREDICTS: 2-2 (10/1 with Sky Bet)

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