Jürgen Klopp has to make 11 clear decisions for Liverpool and Erik ten Hag just proved why

Liverpool face Union SG in their final Europa League group stage game tomorrow night, setting up a big clash with Manchester United in their corner of the Premier League.

Jurgen Klopp is very grateful to Union SG. Without his effort against Toulouse, this week would have been much more difficult for the Liverpool manager.

Manchester United advanced to the Europa League group stage with a comfortable 4-0 win over LASK, but Belgium secured top spot with a goalless draw against France. That makes a trip to mainland Europe this week a no-brainer, at least for visitors.

There is much more to come at Union SG. Although unlikely, if they beat Manchester United and Toulouse lose to LASK, they could join Liverpool in a competitive play-off with a huge goal difference. . There is a chance that they will advance in the conference league or even be eliminated from Europe altogether.

We’ll no doubt hear Klopp talk about the indecisiveness of the rest of the squad when he speaks to the press. That means he will take tomorrow’s game seriously, even if his work is done. But that shouldn’t tempt him to use one of his star players against Union SG.

The Belgian side put it bluntly: Liverpool have much bigger fish to fry this weekend. The game against Manchester United is always one of the first games fans look forward to at the start of the season, and a win for the Reds against their old rivals would set up a huge clash with Premier League leaders Arsenal.

And United showed the dangers of such an important game even after playing in Europe. Eric ten Hag, who already has a long list of players missing, is expected to add at least two more players after Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw were injured against Bayern Munich and Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial are out the cause of a disease.

Ten Hag clearly had no choice but to field a strong team against the German champions. The chances of reaching the knockout stages of the Champions League seem slim, but there is still a chance, but you might not know if you actually watched the game at Old Trafford.

But Klopp’s situation is the exact opposite. Liverpool have nothing to gain from their last group game but have a lot to lose if players get injured.

So while it may be tempting to start with one or two experienced options or bring a few big names off the bench if Liverpool fall behind tomorrow, Klopp should avoid this. The risks far outweigh the rewards.

There’s a chance to see some familiar faces fly to Belgium today, but there are at least 11 players who won’t be making their second appearance tomorrow. Alexis McAllister will not play despite being fit, but you can include  Alisson, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, Kostas Tsimikas, Wataru Endo, Dominik Szoboszlai, Mohamed Salah, Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez . Added to list of players not worth the risk.

There are also several possible options: Players like Joe Gomez, Curtis Jones, Harvey Elliott, Ryan Gravenbirch and Cody Gakpo can all play, but they certainly shouldn’t be near the field for 90 minutes. 45 minutes can be enough.

Figuring out how strong a team should be in the Europa League can sometimes be a tricky balancing act. But Klopp will have to postpone all thoughts until tomorrow. It’s not worth the risk.