Liverpool travel to Austria on Wednesday to face LASK in matchday two of the Champions League league phase at the Raiffeisen Arena in Linz. The Austrian club's name often leaves fans puzzled, but it stands for Linzer Athletik-Sport-Klub, which translates from German as the Linz Athletic Sports Club.
Origins of the club
LASK traces its origins to August 7, 1899, when it was founded by Albert Siems as Linzer-Athletik-Sportklub "Siegfried". Initially, it was not a football club but a heavy athletics and fitness society focused on gymnastics, weightlifting and ring training.
On July 25, 1908, a dedicated football branch was established as Linzer Sport-Klub (LSK). By 1919, the organisation consolidated its athletic heritage with the football club under the unified title Linzer Athletik-Sport-Klub, establishing the permanent acronym LASK.
Home ground and history
LASK are based in Linz, the capital of Upper Austria, situated along the Danube River. They play at the modern Raiffeisen Arena, referred to as the Oberösterreich Arena for UEFA fixtures. The stadium was rebuilt on the site of the Linzer Stadion and opened in February 2023 with a domestic capacity of 19,080 and an international capacity of 17,117.
In the 1964–65 season, LASK became the first club outside Vienna to win the Austrian Bundesliga championship and the Austrian domestic double. In their opening fixture of the 2026/27 Champions League league phase, they suffered a narrow 1–0 defeat away against Greek side AEK Athens.
Liverpool's form
Liverpool enter the clash with early momentum after securing a 2–1 comeback victory over Atlético Madrid in their Champions League opener, bouncing back through an equaliser from Dominik Szoboszlai and a decisive strike from Alexis Mac Allister.
Fans can watch the game live on TNT Sports via HBO Max or Prime Video's TNT Sports channel.
