Belgian football clubs Union Saint-Gilloise and Genk will be fighting for their future in the Europa and Conference Leagues, respectively, this Thursday night against Liverpool and Cukaricki.
Union Saint-Gilloise, who are currently in third place in Group E with 5 points, still harbour hopes of securing second place, but sit behind Toulouse who have 8 points.
Union SG must triumph over Liverpool by two goals and hope LASK defeats Toulouse to qualify, with goal difference (-2 for Toulouse, -4 for Union) set to play a key role.
Meanwhile, the Brussels side could still end up in 4th place if they lose tonight against Liverpool and LASK triumphs over Toulouse.
But if they beat Liverpool, and Toulouse also win, Union SG will be ranked third and enter the Conference League – Europe's third-tier competition. The same happens if Union loses tonight and Toulouse win or draw.
Liverpool's head coach Jurgen Klopp pictured during a press conference of English club Liverpool FC, on Wednesday 13 December 2023 in Brussels. Credit: Belga / Laurie Dieffembacq
Union SG manager Alexander Blessin has a full squad, with only Charles Vanhoutte suspended.
In a press conference in Brussels, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp indicated that many of Liverpool's star players will be rested on Thursday evening, with an eye on Sunday's Premier League match against Manchester United.
According to the Liverpool Echo, the likes of Mo Salah, Virgil van Dijk, Alisson Becker and Trent Alexander-Arnold have all been left at home.
Rest of Belgium
Over in the Conference League, Genk is also vying for their future against Cukaricki in Group F. Genk, currently ranked third (6 points), must overcome the Serbian team and hope Ferencvaros’s (9 points) will lose against Fiorentina (11 points). For Genk too, goal difference, presently in favour of the Hungarians (+3 against +1), will be crucial.
Club Bruges and AA Gent, already guaranteed a place in Europe, will still need to secure top placement in their group to avoid the preliminary rounds for the last 16.
Being the dominant team with 13 points, three more than Bodo/Glimt, Bruges will secure Group D’s first place if they avoid a loss by more than one point thanks to their prior 1-0 win.
Gent, leading Group D with 13 points, needs one point against Maccabi Tel Aviv (12 points) to secure the top spot. Due to the conflict between Israel and Hamas, the game is set to take place in Backa Topola, Serbia.
