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pre-game entertainment. “Devyne Rensch is a great name, reminiscent of a magical tool in the hands of a superhero,” quips the constantly quipping Peter Oh. “It also reminds me of that indie hit.”
O-Petey’s Super Sounds of the 90’s.
pre-game reading. Quickly browse the Warden’s Vault and see what we’ve got here! Enjoy, enjoy (x2).
Liverpool make three changes to the squad sent in for the 1-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest. Darwin Núñez, Trent Alexander-Arnold and captain Jordan Henderson take the places of Fabio Carvalho, James Milner and Curtis Jones, all of whom fall on the bench.
Meanwhile, there are three differences from the starting XI chosen by Ajax for September’s 2-1 defeat at Anfield, a game decided by Joel Matip in the penultimate minute. Davy Klaassen, Brian Brobbey and Jorge Sanchez are there; Kenneth Taylor, Devyne Rensch and Mohammed Kudus start on the bench.
The teams
ajax: Pasveer, Sanchez, Timber, Blind, Bassey, Klaassen, Alvarez, Berghuis, Bergwijn, Brobbey, Tadic.
Substitutes: Stekelenburg, Wijndal, Taylor, Ocampos, Rensch, Gorter, Lucca, Kudus, Grillitsch, Magallan, Francisco Conceicao.
Liverpool: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, van Dijk, Robertson, Henderson, Fabinho, Elliott, Salah, Firmino, Nunez.
Substitutes: Konate, Milner, Adrian, Jones, Tsimikas, Ramsay, Carvalho, Bajcetic, Phillips, Kelleher.
Referee: Jose Maria Sanchez (Spain).
preamble
Two weeks ago, Liverpool did this…
… which means if they get a point tonight in Amsterdam they will make it to the knockout stages of this year’s Champions League. A loss can even be okay, provided it’s no more than one goal. Ajax would then still technically be able to qualify if Liverpool lost 2-1 tonight, but they would need a huge goal difference on matchday six to trump the Reds. If Liverpool lose by two goals, Ajax will have the better head-to-head record before heading to Rangers, while Liverpool host Napoli. TLDR: easiest and best for Liverpool not to lose. Kick-off is at 8pm BST. It’s on!