More players have been added to Liverpool's Champions League squad ahead of the Reds' third league phase game against Villarreal, with nine new names appearing among Andoni Iraola's options

Liverpool has added nine more players to its Champions League squad ahead of its third league phase game against Villarreal on Tuesday.

The Reds are back at Anfield later, where they will be aiming to make it three wins out of three in Europe, having already beaten Atletico Madrid and Austrian side LASK this season.

Andoni Iraola comes up against a familiar face in the shape of Inigo Perez, with the Villarreal boss having both played alongside the Liverpool head coach, and worked as his assistant before Iraola made the move to Bournemouth. A win for the Reds would put them well on the path to reach the knockout stages, with 24 of the 36 teams in the league phase set to secure at least a place in the play-offs.

Ahead of the clash with Villarreal, more names have been added to Liverpool’s European squad, with nine new players now appearing via the club’s List B.

The Reds have already submitted their 25-man squad for the first stage of the competition, with both Wataru Endo and Federico Chiesa missing out, while Conor Bradley and Hugo Ekitike were included, despite their long-term injuries.

Iraola’s squad can be further bolstered through the club’s List B, which provides an unlimited number of spots for U21 players, provided they were born on or after January 1, 2005, and have been eligible to play for the club for an uninterrupted period of two years since their 15th birthday.

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The likes of Rio Ngumoha, Trey Nyoni and Lewis Koumas were included on Liverpool’s List B ahead of the opening game against Atletico Madrid last month, along with 11 other players, and now another nine have now been added.

Among those to have been included are 16-year-old Josh Abe, who has caught plenty of attention and has even been linked with Real Madrid, and Prince Cisse, son of former Reds striker Djibril.

The other seven to have been added to the squad are Haydn Murray-Holme, Erik Farkas, DJ Esdaille, Oliver O’Connor, Joe Upton, La’more Lee Forrester and Finn Inglethorpe.

It is unlikely that any of the nine to have been added will feature during the league phase, but they do offer more backup to Iraola in case of a potential injury crisis. And, depending on how Liverpool fares during the remainder of the league phase, there could yet be one or two opportunities for some of the club’s younger players in Europe.

The final game of the opening stage in the 2024/25 competition saw previous head coach Arne Slot make a raft of changes after already securing a spot in the top eight, with Nyoni, James McConnell and Jayden Danns among those to have featured against PSV Eindhoven.