Brendan Rodgers takes his men to Russia as Liverpool face Zenit St Petersburg in the first leg of the clubs' first round knock-out tie in the UEFA Europa League.

Luis Suarez
Luis Suarez is likely to lead Liverpool's attack against Zenit. Reuters

Where to Watch

Kick-off is set for 5pm GMT. Live coverage will be available on ITV 4.

Overview

The Russian champions failed to qualify for the knock-out stages of the Champions League, which results in them playing in the Europa League. Zenit finished third in their group with seven points, just one point behind second place Malaga. Italian club AC Milan topped Group C. Luciano Spalletti's side are currently third in the Russian Premier Lague with 38 points from 19 games, trailing league leaders CSKA Moscow by five points.

Zenit's home form in Europe so far has been less than impressive, with only one win from three games. The good news for Spalletti is that the defence has been reasonably solid at home, with only five goals conceded in the six group stage games. The problem will be that the club have only scored five times.

Liverpool come into this game after a poor performance in the home defeat to West Brom. Captain Steven Gerrard missed a penalty in the final minutes and was punished after Gareth McAuley and on-loan Chelsea forward Romelu Lukaku scored in the final 10 minutes.

The Reds qualified as winners of Group A and will be confident for this tie because they have had immediate experience of Russian competition; Rodgers saw off the challenge of Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala in the group stages. What will worry the ex-Swansea City boss, though, is the fact the club has not won any of the last four games.

Raheem Sterling
Raheem Sterling has been impressive for Liverpool this season. Reuters

Team Guide

Zenit St Petersburg

  • Last Five (all competitions, most recent first): L W W L L
  • Last Result: Zenit 0 - 1 BATE Borisov

Liverpool

  • Last Five (all competitions, most recent first): L D D L W
  • Last Result: Liverpool 0 - 2 West Bromwich Albion

Team News

Roman Shirokov
uefa.com

Spalletti has the entire squad for selection as there are no injury worries. January signings Luis Neto and and left-back Milan Rodic are also available for selection. Summer signings Hulk and Axel Witsel are likely to start on Thursday, as the Brazilian international will be leading Zenit's attacking line up.

Probable Line-Up: Malafeev; Anyukov, Lombaerts, Alves, Hubocan; Witsel, Denisov, Shirokov, Fayzulin; Bukharov, Hulk

Liverpool's January signings Daniel Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho are ruled out for the tie against Zenit, as they have been involved in the European competition with Chelsea and Inter Milan respectively. Defender Martin Kelly is ruled out for the tie due to injury. Uruguayan international Luis Suarez is likely to lead the Reds attacking line against the Russian champions.

Probable Line-Up: Reina; Wisdom, Carragher, Skrtel, Enrique; Sterling, Shelvey, Allen, Henderson; Borini, Suarez

Russia