Liverpool U19 vs MSK Zilina U19 – UEFA Youth League Preview | OneFootball

By Dan Clubbe

Whilst Liverpool continue to navigate a sticky spell domestically, the Champions League has often provided some much-needed respite and often the brightest moments of many fans’ weeks so far this season, with recent impressive victories over Marseille and Qarabag lifting the spirits and providing hope that all may not be lost.

Meanwhile, whilst the struggles of the senior side have been clear for all to see, the academy has enjoyed a strong start to 2026, with the Under 18s enjoying a perfect winning start with four wins from four and the Under 21s enjoying an equally impressive record following their 1-0 win on the south coast against Brighton on Friday night.

Next up for the young Reds is a trip to Slovakia on Tuesday to face MSK Zilina in the UEFA Youth League’s Round of 32, a clash that it’s anticipated will be played in front of a sold out 10,000 strong partizan crowd at Štadión pod Dubňom. 

That in itself will be a wholly new experience and challenge for the young Liverpool starlets, and despite their strong showings domestically in recent weeks, they will be aware of the difficulty their next opponent could cause them. 

Ahead of the match, Under 18s manager who works alongside Rob Page in the UEFA Youth League, Simon Wiles, previewed the intriguing trip in the Liverpool FC Official matchday programme:

On the challenge ahead: “I think it’s an exciting one. At the start of the season this was the competition that we wanted to expose our players to and see how far we could get in the tournament, The fact that we’ve managed to get to the knockout stages and now go to Žilina for this fixture is something that the players, Rob [Page], myself and the rest of the staff are all looking forward to, although we know it’s going to be a challenging game.

On analysing MSK Zilina: “We’ve been looking through a couple of their fixtures, and we’ll have an understanding and an idea of how they are likely to play. This week, we’ll be thinking about the squad of 20 that will be going and which players we could probably use to overcome the opposition and the style that they might bring. However, like we always say, when you’ve got the focus on your own players, and you believe in what you’re doing, then it’s down to them to maximise the areas that they can exploit, the situations that they get into and the decisions that they make on the pitch. Regardless of who we’re going up against, if we can stick to our principles of what we work on day-to-day, then hopefully you’d like to think that we can get the performance that we all want. We really enjoy going on these trips and learning about the players on and off the pitch. We’re really looking forward to Žilina, and hopefully we can put in a good performance and keep progressing in the tournament.”

MŠK Žilina is renowned as one of Slovakia’s top talent factories, producing numerous players who have gone on to represent the Slovakian national team and play in major European leagues, with the likes of Milan Škriniar, Martin Dúbravka, David Hancko and Jakub Kiwior all heralding from the seven-time Slovak champions. 

With a sell-out crowd of 10,000 expected, a scenario that will be completely alien to many of the Liverpool youngsters, Page and Wiles will need to make sure the group are prepared for the test ahead. 

However, in a rich vein of form and with an abundance of talent at their disposal, confidence and momentum couldn’t be higher, and hopefully we will be seeing Liverpool in Friday’s draw for the next stage of the competition. 

Liverpool themselves don’t boast a rich history and connection with Slovakia, but Martin Skrtel, the only man to hail from the nation, albeit the centre-back’s no-nonsense, combative, never-say-die attitude approach to football, may give us an insight into what we might expect. 

One potential threat the young Reds will need to be wary of is that of centre-forward Nicolas Gucik, who, despite not scoring in the previous two European encounters, does have nine goals in 11 appearances this season in the Slovakian Youth League. 

To find out more about the opponents, Dan spoke to Slovak football expert and football lawyer, Lukáš Vráblik, who gave us this background on the Reds’ opponents…

On MSK Zilina: “They are one of the traditional clubs over here, one of the strongest when it comes to development right now. Although they have become champions a couple of times, they are pretty much a stable club, selling a lot of players. The region has a strong interest in football but often the politics in the club are criticised. But, they have the best academy in Slovakia for sure.” 

On the interest levels in this game: “It’s been spoken about a lot by football people. It’s a big thing to play against Liverpool, of course. Zilina has been pretty successful over the last few years when it comes to development. Two years ago, they clashed with Borussia Dortmund at home so there is a high interest now. It sold out very quickly, and it’s interesting because for a league game for the first team, maybe 2, 3 or 4,000 people at most would come, but now for this, the stadium will be sold out. There was a big demand for tickets. It’s kind of crazy!” 

On the strength of the Zilina academy: “As I say, they have the best academy in the country. When you check the senior national team of Slovakia, there are many players who went through the youth setup, and sometimes in recent history, you had more than half the lineup that went through Zilina.”

On what Liverpool can expect: “Teamwork, they are a really good pressing team usually, they often play 4-3-3. They are dynamic, adventurous on the ball, and they won’t be scared. They will try to play football; they always try to do that.” 

On the occasion: “It will be 10,000 people, it should be a good atmosphere, especially if Zelina scores first. I think they have a good chance. There has been a tendency to underestimate them in other games, but they’ve already shown they can play against strong opposition. They will not be afraid, and this home advantage can surely help. It will be a very hard game for Liverpool’s youngsters, as it’s going to be a big, big occasion for the whole region.” 

So far in this campaign, Trent Kone-Doherty is the Reds’ top scorer with three goals, whilst Josh Sonni Lambie currently has two in the competition. Both forwards, plus the likes of Kieran Morrison, Carter Pinnington and Alvin Ayman, will be pivotal to Rob Page’s side’s chances. 

Ahead of the match, we spoke to MSK Zilina U19 Head Coach Michal Kijačik…

On the confidence levels: “Of course, we play football to win. We believe that progressing to the next round is within our capabilities, although our respect for Liverpool goes without saying. In a match like this, the details will be decisive.”

On squad strength and club support: “A key aspect of our situation is that seven players are currently training with our senior first team. I have to say that head coach Pavol Staňo has been extremely supportive and released all of them for this match, including Slovakia U21 international Tobiáš Pališčák. This level of cooperation is not common everywhere, but in Žilina, the whole club works together to ensure the U19 team can play in its strongest possible lineup. I consider that something very special.”

On the occasion and atmosphere: “The stadium will be sold out. I have never led a team in such an atmosphere before. This will be the most important match of my coaching career so far.”

On Liverpool’s youth setup and quality: “Liverpool are a global football brand, but their youth structure is different. They don’t have a traditional U19 team – instead, they work with U18s, U21s and the first team, similar to us. That makes them difficult to scout directly. We can only analyse what they have shown so far in the Youth League.

“Their attacking players have enormous quality. Some of them have already featured for the first team, and there are also U21 internationals from Ireland and Northern Ireland. Our advantage is that many of our players already have significant experience in senior football, either in the Slovak first or second division, both of which are excellent environments for development.”

On playing style and tactical approach: “Žilina is known for playing proactive football, but against Liverpool, that can also be dangerous. We are looking for balance. We are playing at home, the match will have its own story, and we need to be able to react to different scenarios.”

“We must not be carried away by the atmosphere. Mental preparation will be crucial – creating positive tension, not pressure. We want to be active, but we are also training the ability to change tempo when needed.”

“A big advantage for us is that the entire club follows one unified playing concept. All top categories play the same system based on the same principles, so there is no need for experiments. The players know exactly what is expected of them.”

The game kicks off at 3.30pm (GMT) on Tuesday afternoon, and you can watch it on All Red Video.