Liverpool dealt blow as star set to miss Toulouse fixture in the Europa League
Liverpool have been dealt an injury blow as Ryan Gravenberch has been ruled out of their UEFA Europa League clash with Toulouse on Thursday, October 9.
The Reds visit the Stadium de Toulouse on Matchday 4 of the group stages, looking to seal their place in the knockout stages. However, Jurgen Klopp's side will have to do so without Gravenberch, who won't be traveling with the rest of the squad.
A Liverpool blog on X, called The Anfield Talk, reported earlier today that he wasn't spotted at training, before confirming his absence from tonight's matchday squad.
The page wrote:
"Liverpool have confirmed that Ryan Gravenberch isn’t in the travelling squad to Toulouse. #LFC"
Gravenberch is among the eight players set to miss the visit to Toulouse, with Curtis Jones missing out due to injury and Virgil van Dijk being rested.
The Reds' long list of absentees includes Andrew Robertson, Thiago, and Stefan Bajcetic. Conor Bradley and goalkeeper Adrian won't feature too, with the latter not even included in their Europa League squad for the season.
Liverpool among the favorites for the Europa League title
Being one of the strongest teams on the paper, Liverpool are among the favorites for the Europa League title. Their form so far has only added more substance to that claim.
The Reds have won all three of their group fixtures to accrue nine points from a possible nine. They beat LASK 3-1 on the road, before a 2-0 win over Union Saint-Gilloise and then a 5-1 demolition of Toulouse at Anfield.
Tonight, the Merseyside outfit will be without many of their key players, but would still be favorites to prevail. They have an array of quality substitutes who can cement the gap effectively.
While progressing to the knockout stages was never in doubt, the side are seen as among the strongest contenders for the Europa League title. Among other teams that have impressed so far, are AS Roma and Bayer Leverkusen, both of whom have won all three group matches.
Marseille and West Ham United are among the dark horses, while there's Ajax, Real Betis, and Atalanta in the mix too. All of them have the potential to cause upsets in the latter stages of the competition.
No team, however, comes with as much European pedigree as Liverpool, for whom it will be a failure not to win the cup.