MATCH PREVIEW: Rubin Kazan V Liverpool

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Image via irishtimes.com
It's my birthday!!! Just thought I'd get that in there, yer know, seen as though I'm taking time out to write this match preview for you all...Haha, but seriously, Jurgen Klopp faces a difficult trip to Russia on Thursday evening as the Reds look to improve their situation in the Europa League group.

Injuries for Liverpool mean they are still unable to call upon Daniel Sturridge and Jordan Henderson however it is believed the boss is going to be taking a strong squad for this match. Unavailable though is Teixeira who is ineligible as he was never named in Liverpool's Europa League squad list.

It's nice to see Klopp taking this match so seriously but then I suppose he has to with the situation we are in. Maybe if Rodgers hadn't played such weakened sides we'd be far more comfortable at this stage but nevermind!

For Rubin Kazan they have a relatively strong squad to choose from but they will be unable to call upon Oleg Kuzmin who is currently the clubs third top goalscorer.

Our last fixture with Kazan on 22nd October was our first ever meeting with the side. Marko Devic opened up the scoring with a fantastic goal but Emre Can secured an equaliser late in the first half. The Russians proved they can be a threat and I was impressed by their pace on the counter attack, it will be interesting to see whether they opt to play differently at home but whatever the tactical set up it is still going to be a difficult clash for Jurgen Klopp's side.

I would usually have a stat sandwich at this point for you but due to this preview being relatively early my go to stats areas haven't updated themselves yet! However I can tell you that Rubin Kazan have a relatively decent record against English opposition at home. They have faced English teams on seven occasions and have collected three wins, two draws and two losses.

Philippe Coutinho was quoted recently after the Chelsea game saying "Three points and against that opposition, it's given us the boost to our confidence and I hope we can now focus on each game and be successful."

I certainly hope he's right, that win over Chelsea was massive and it's proven that the Reds can pick up big results when they need to. It's no secret that Klopp is perhaps battling with a below par side but until we reach that transfer window there's nothing he can change.

Until then, he needs to continue what he does best and that's filling his players with confidence and belief. It's evident that all the lads in training are ecstatic to have such a charismatic leader around and I honestly think the Klopp effect is already rubbing off on a lot of our starting line up.

If I manage to put any bets on I will probably be going with a 2-1 Liverpool win, I'm pretty sure Kazan will find the back of the net but I'm hoping Benteke will feature and he'll grab a goal along with somebody else hopefully!

I asked you for your score predictions on Twitter and here are a few of the tweets I received:
Enjoy the match folks, wherever you are watching!