Liverpool drop fresh double selection hint ahead of LASK Europa League clash

Liverpool under-21s picked up their first EFL Trophy victory since entering the competition as they beat Morecambe 3-0 at the Mazuma Mobile Stadium.

The young Reds have participated in the competition since the 2019-20 season to expose their fledgling talents to the rigours of senior football. And it was a fine win in their Northern Group A opener as they blitzed their way past the League Two outfit in the first half.

Mateusz Musialowski opened the scoring in the 13th minute before Calum Scanlon doubled the advantage on 28 minutes. And six minutes before half-time, Bobby Clark sealed the three point with six minutes prior to the interval.

Clark is highly rated by Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp. Signed from Newcastle United in the summer of 2021, the midfielder made his Premier League debut in a 9-0 thrashing of AFC Bournemouth last season while he was handed his full Reds bow in a Carabao Cup triumph against Derby County. Clark also featured heavily in Klopp's pre-season plans during the summer as he played in four friendlies - and scoring against Leicester City.

But it appears that the teenager will not be involved in Liverpool's Europa League Group E curtain-raiser against LASK on Thursday evening given that he played for a full 90 minutes against Morecambe. Domink Szoboszlai, Alexis Mac Allister and Curtis Jones all started the 3-1 win over Wolves last weekend may be given a rest but Klopp still has Wataru Endo, Ryan Gravenberch, Harvey Elliott and Stefan Bajcetic to call on.

What's more, Ben Doak did not feature for the under-21s at Morecambe. The 17-year-old winger signed a new long-term contract with Liverpool yesterday evening and has been fast-tracked into the first team since signing from Celtic last summer.

Doak has managed just one appearance so far this season, though, and minutes in the EFL Trophy could have been what Liverpool opted for. However, he'll be traveling to Austria for face LASK- and there have been some suggestions he could replace Mo Salah on the right wing.