MATCH PREVIEWMeet the opposition: Karlsruher SC

Jürgen Klopp’s side take on the 2. Bundesliga team at BBBank Wildpark in a match that kicks off at 5.30pm BST and will be live on LFCTV and LFCTV GO.

Under the management of 40-year-old Christian Eichner, Karlsruher placed seventh in the second division of German football last year. This is his first coaching position; he previously represented the team as a player.

In 2022–23, Fabian Schleusener led all scorers with 16 goals in all competitions, but Marvin Wanitzek, a midfielder, hit double figures in both goals and assists and might be the one to watch.

The club last competed in the top league in 2008-09; they were champions in 1909 and DFB-Pokal (German Cup) winners in 1955 and 1956, respectively.

The most successful year for Karlsruher in recent memory was 1996–1997. They gained entry into the UEFA Cup by winning the UEFA Intertoto Cup, and after eliminating AS Roma, they were eliminated themselves in the third round.

KSC’s sixth-place result in the Bundesliga that year was also their joint-best in the history of German league football.

The lone historical connection between them and Liverpool is their leading scorer from the 1996–97 season. Sean Dundee, a striker for Karlsruher, scored 24 goals in all competitions that season before joining the Reds at the conclusion of the next year.

Slaven Bilic, Oliver Kahn, and current Internazionale midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu are some prominent former members of the team. Joachim Low, the World Cup champion coach, previously coached and played for Karlsruher.

While Klopp has faced Karlsruher as both a player and manager, the Reds have never before. Nuri Sahin, a future midfielder for the Liverpool FC, scored and provided an assist in Borussia Dortmund’s 4-0 victory over him in their final league meeting in 2009.