One of Liverpool’s Europa League group stage fixtures has been moved, as confirmed by official correspondence from our opponents.
Jurgen Klopp’s side will complete their Group E schedule in Belgium against Union Saint-Gilloise, but the Jupiler Pro League club won’t be hosting the Reds at their usual home, the Joseph Marien Stadium.
The Brussels outfit posted ticket details for their three ‘home’ fixtures on their official website, with their European games taking place at Anderlecht’s Lotto Park, which has a capacity more than double that of the aforementioned venue.
Liverpool make the trip to the Belgian capital on Thursday 14 December, with the match kicking off at 5:45pm UK time.
The Reds have recent experience of moving a nominal ‘home’ game away from their stadium, having played Darmstadt at Preston’s Deepdale ground for their final pre-season friendly in early August amid ongoing redevelopment work at Anfield.
Union’s Joseph Marien Stadium can only hold 9,400 fans, and with the club competing in Europe for a second successive season and welcoming one of the biggest names in world football, it’s no surprise that they’ve moved the fixture to a bigger venue in the same city.
They’ve already played some European games at Lotto Park, having been forced to do so for the knockout stages last term as their stadium didn’t meet UEFA requirements for that phase of the competition.
It’s a move that Liverpool fans will welcome, as it should enable more of the travelling Reds to acquire tickets for the game, which’ll hopefully present a pleasant pre-Christmas trip for those going to Belgium.
By the time the match comes around, hopefully we’ll have progression secured and won’t need to worry about getting a result to maintain our European hopes for the spring months.
#Ep89 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: EOTK Insider with Neil Jones🎙️