Liverpool Begin Champions League Away to Napoli

UEFA have now released Champions League fixtures, and the Reds begin their Group E action with their toughest match.

Unlike last year, when Liverpool found themselves in the “Group of Death” with Paris St. Germain, Napoli, and a resilient Red Star Belgrade, the Reds have an easier draw (on paper, at least). That is the good news.

Also unlike last year, and for the worse, Liverpool start and end their Group Stage action away from the safe confines of Anfield. And their first European adventure is a doozy, away to Napoli, site of arguably Liverpool’s worst performance of the entire 2018/19 campaign in any competition. Klopp’s charges could hardly lay a glove on Carlo Ancelotti’s Napoli, and walked away with a 1-0 loss that honestly should have been worse.

Liverpool’s full campaign, including Premier League* and League Cup matches are listed below (Champions League matches in bold):

Saturday, September 14 - Newcastle (H)

Tuesday, September 17 - Napoli (A)

Sunday, September 22 - Chelsea (A)

Wednesday, September 25 - MK Dons (A)

Saturday, September 28 - Sheffield United (A)

Wednesday, October 2 - Salzburg (H)

Saturday, October 5 - Leicester City (H)

Saturday, October 19 - Manchester United (A)

Wednesday, October 23 - Genk (A)

Sunday, October 27 - Spurs (H)

-TBD- Fourth Round of League Cup ~October 29-30

Saturday, November 2 - Aston Villa (A)

Tuesday, November 5 - Genk (H)

Saturday, November 9 - Manchester City (H)

Saturday, November 23 - Crystal Palace (A)

Wednesday, November 27 - Napoli (H)

Saturday, November 30 - Brighton (H)

Wednesday, December 4 - Everton (H)

Saturday, December 7 - Bournemouth (A)

Tuesday, December 10 - Salzburg (A)

Saturday, December 14 - Watford (H)

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All in all, it’s a pretty favorable draw. Going away to Chelsea after Napoli isn’t ideal, but the Tuesday-to-Sunday break should help. Otherwise, pretty manageable, and five home matches after mid-week exertions should prove quite helpful in keeping things ticking over on both fronts.

And for those keeping an eye on Manchester City, the Sky Blues have to travel away to Atalanta the Wednesday before facing us. So that’s interesting.

On our end, and back to focusing on Europe (where Liverpool are champions) hopefully the Reds will take care of their business at Anfield and abroad, so they don’t have to sweat any final matchday drama, and on the road, no less.

*Several league matches are likely to be moved.

Source: liverpooloffside.sbnation.com