IT’S the European champions versus the team eighth in the Belgian top flight.
But no one in their right mind will be putting any money on a goalless draw.
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Jurgen Klopp’s side are again causing major damage in attack this season — although increasingly, the goals are being scored a bit late.
So now they know what it feels like being Manchester United under Alex Ferguson.
But an increasingly rare sight is a Liverpool clean sheet and this is clearly troubling keeper Alisson.
The Brazilian, the man whose stunning save against Inter Milan in the group stages last season kept the club in the Champions League, has conceded in all four of his games since returning from a ten-week spell on the sidelines.
He said: “It always annoys me always when we concede stupid goals and it also annoys my team-mates.
“When we go onto the pitch, we have a common goal and that is to win — and keep a clean sheet.
“When you keep a clean sheet, you are closer to a victory and at least you have a draw. So yes, I think we can work better on that aspect.”
‘LAPSES WILL FINALLY BITE’
The stats back up what appears a defensive issue, with the Reds keeping just three clean sheets in their first 17 matches of the season.
That compares to eight shutouts after the same number of games a year ago.
Klopp needed late goals from Andy Robertson and Sadio Mane to squeeze a 2-1 win over Aston Villa on Saturday.
Three days earlier at Anfield, Liverpool leaked five goals at home to Arsenal in the Carabao Cup.
While the sloppy 88th-minute goal they conceded in the 4-1 win against Genk two weeks ago was another sign this team keeps switching off at the back even when the opposition are not very good.
Sooner or later, defensive lapses will bite them on the backside.
Alisson, 27, who was KO’d by a calf injury in the opening game against Norwich, added: “If you concede a goal, the game becomes more difficult and we need to work on this if we want to do great things.
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“Sometimes, it is down to the quality of the opponent and if they score a good goal, you know you could not have done anything different.
“You need to accept that. It is part of the game. But we can do better on the concentration side of things.
“For example, against Genk, we conceded a goal late on and this annoyed me. It annoyed everyone.
“We need to keep focus. We need to learn from these moments to make sure it does not happen again.”
Liverpool have conceded nearly double the amount of goals — 22 — compared to the same spell last season (12).
‘MAIN AIM IS CLEAN SHEETS’
And there is no doubt they look weaker at the back without Joel Matip who is still out with a knee injury.
Dejan Lovren has been filling in although Joe Gomez, who has been struggling with form and confidence, could play tonight.
But boss Klopp is less bothered about the lack of clean sheets.
The German, who will make changes tonight, said: “I don’t care — I don’t expect perfect games.
“We can always try and improve but our main target is not to keep clean sheets. We will have those in the season and there will be moments we can defend situations better.
“The goal against Villa was not a mistake — we have to accept Villa did better than us in that situation.
“We have scored in decisive moments against Spurs, United and Villa and the result is what’s important.”
Liverpool, though, have still lost only one competitive game this term — a 2-0 defeat against Napoli — and are in a strong position in Group E having won their last two games against Salzburg and Genk.
They will make another big step towards the knockout stages with victory against the Belgian champs.
Genk suffered a fifth league defeat with a 2-0 loss to KAS Eupen on Saturday, so the Reds should be confident of a first clean sheet since the 1-0 win at Sheffield United eight matches ago.
Alisson refused to give a direct answer when asked about Manchester City chief Pep Guardiola’s claim that Kop striker Mane is a diver.
The keeper was far happier talking about his return following injury.
He added: “I have felt good physically from the first game I played against Manchester United. I am now starting to feel more confident again.”
