Liverpool welcomes Union SG to Anfield for a Europa League group-stage matchup on Thursday night as they look to rebound from their contentious Premier League loss the previous weekend.
After defeating LASK Linz 3-1 in gameweek one, the Reds are currently in first place in Group E, while their Belgian counterparts drew 1-1 with Toulouse in their opening group match.
In dramatic and contentious circumstances, Liverpool’s 17-game unbeaten streak in the Premier League came to an end on Saturday as they lost 2-1 at Tottenham Hotspur. This was their first loss in any competition since April 1.
After a VAR review, Luis Diaz’s first-half goal was incorrectly disallowed due to a “significant human error” only 10 minutes after Curtis Jones was controversially dismissed for a late challenge. After Diogo Jota received two yellow cards quickly in the second half, the Reds were down to nine men, and Joel Matip’s own-goal conversion in the 96th minute added insult to injury for Liverpool.
After the game, Jurgen Klopp expressed his displeasure to the referees, and Liverpool—who has dropped to fourth in the top-flight table—has since issued a strong statement asserting that “sporting integrity has been undermined” and that they intend to “explore the range of options” in an effort to resolve the situation.
Liverpool will aim to turn their frowns upside down when they resume their Europa League group-stage campaign on Thursday with a first-ever match against Union SG, and they will undoubtedly appreciate a midweek return to Anfield amid the lingering VAR issue in the Premier League.
In fact, the Reds have won each of their last seven group-stage matches in UEFA competition and 15 of their last 21 home Europa League games. They have also lost just one of their previous 15 matches against Belgian teams, a 3-1 loss to Anderlecht in the 1978 European Super Cup.
Union SG, which is taking part in the Europa League group stage for the second consecutive year, was able to get a draw against Toulouse at home two weeks ago.
The French visitors took the lead at halftime thanks to Thijs Dallinga, but Mohamed Amoura, who came off the bench as a substitute, scored Union SG’s equalizer in the 69th minute and gave them their first lead in three games.
Since then, Alexander Blessin’s team has won three straight Belgian Pro League games, including last weekend’s 3-1 home victory over Charleroi to assist the Saint-Gilles-based club keep their place at the top of the table, even though it is on goal differential after six games.
In their first Europa League campaign in 2022–2023, Union SG advanced to the quarterfinals after winning their group. This time, finishing above Liverpool at the top of Group E seems difficult, so securing second place ahead of Toulouse and LASK Linz is a reasonable goal for Blessin and company.
The Unionistes are going into Thursday’s game hoping to avoid losing at Liverpool and can leave Anfield with confidence because they did not lose any of their five away games in the Europa League last season.
The only other time Union SG faced English opposition was in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1958–1960, when they faced Birmingham City and lost both matches.
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