Liverpool vs Red Bull Salzburg 03/10/19

3 October 2019

Liverpool will take on Red Bull Salzburg at Anfield for their opening home match of the 2019/20 UEFA Champions League (CL) campaign.

The reigning holders went down to Napoli in the curtain-raiser, losing 2-0 on the road, which was their second consecutive CL away loss to nil. But, the Reds won the CL last season mainly thanks to impressive home performances having picked up five wins in six home games in the triumphant 2018/19 campaign (W5, D1). Notably, four of those victories saw them score two or more goals, and four witnessed them keep a clean sheet too. What’s more, the Merseyside giants are undefeated in 22 European home fixtures (W16, D6), with their last European failure on home soil dating back to October 2014. Additionally, Virgil Van Dijk and his fellow defensive teammates have preserved a clean slate in five consecutive CL home outings ahead of this clash.

On the other hand, having qualified for the group stage from the qualifying rounds after seven unsuccessful attempts, the Austrian heavyweights feature in the most prestigious club competition in Europe for the second time in their history. The visitors marked their first group stage appearance since 1994/95 with a stunning 6-2 home triumph over Genk. Die Mozartstädter have been impressive on the road over the past three years, racking up a seven-game unbeaten CL run away from home, all qualifiers (W4, D3). But, Jesse Marsch has to be wary of the fact Salzburg have lost three of four H2Hs with the Premier League clubs without scoring a single goal (D1, L3).