More Liverpool and Premier League heritage. More Saudi stuff, too. JL on Stevie G.

Hello, Peter Oh: “I like Liverpool but always maintain a soft spot for the plucky underdog. I don’t know anything about Girona but a quick scan of its specialities shows that sweet sausages (!) and cream-filled deep-fried pastries (!!) are among the top local delicacies. It’s really hard to root against a place like that. May the football be as satisfying as a sugary mash of meat squeezed into a casing of intestine!”

“Hi, I am Graham up late in Shanghai ready to watch the big match.”

Hello, Graham

“Is it just me or does the Girona team look like a bunch of EPL cast offs. Gazzaniga, Blind, Romeu, Bryan Gil, Donny Van de Beek? They all came and gave it a crack but for various reasons were given the boot. Maybe they are gelling in this beautiful part of the world?”

Girona finished third last season in La Liga, and are ninth now. One of the issues of being a sub-club of your City Football Groups is good players get shunted up. Savinho has gone, and that looks a bunch of players loaned and cheaply added. They have struggled in this competition. Aleix Garcia was another good player gone. Football agency is a funny old game.

Yaser Asprilla, no relation, cost £15m from Watford, where a lot was expected of him. Watford is another club of odd transfer business, where it probably makes sense to someone or other. Pau Lopez had some time at Tottenham, too.

Kev gets in touch: “The Holy Goalie is back, feel sorry for Irish Kev. Mind you, a change of the guard next season. No nickname for Mamadasharvilli yet. Thought it will cost a bit to get it on a shirt.”

Kweev had done a fine job. He’s set to be a first-choice somewhere else. Though Alisson Becker does have twangable hamstrings.

Fancy some Football Daily action? By me, actually.

Beyond the goalies, two changes from the Newcastle game for Liverpool.

Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dominik Szoboszlai in, Alexis Mac Allister out altogether and Jarell Quansah benched after a difficult night on Tyneside.

That Girona team would do well as a Barclaysmen team – is that still a cool thing? – Spurs legend Paolo Gazzaniga; two Manchester United legends in Daley Blind and Donny Van de Beek, a Chelsea and Southampton legend in Oriol Romeu and two more Spurs legends in Bryan Gil and Arnaut Danjuma. All it needs is a Georgie Thompson voiceover.

The full teams via PA Media:

Girona: Gazzaniga, Frances, Juanpe, Krejci, Blind, van de Beek, Romeu, Gutierrez, Asprilla, Gil Salvatierra, Danjuma. Subs: Pau Lopez, Lucas Garcia, Arnau Martinez, David Lopez, Stuani, Abel Ruiz, Solis, Martin, Portu, Clua, Kim, Jastin Garcia.

Liverpool: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, van Dijk, Robertson, Szoboszlai, Gravenberch, Jones, Salah, Nunez, Diaz. Subs: Jaros, Kelleher, Endo, Gakpo, Elliott, McConnell, Norris, Quansah.

Referee: Benoit Bastien (France)

Mike’s in, and he’s fighting the power: “Liverpool bench light? Can’t be, I’ve not read countless comments about an injury crisis. Unlike Arsenal and Manchester City who never shut up about it and so get a sympathy note from pundits and presenters.”

Andrew Benton has gone there: “I always thought this song was called My Gerona - by the Knack, way back in the good old days.....”

Now, does anyone know any other songs by The Knack?

Jeremy Boyce gets in touch: “Looking forward to your great-looking MBM appetiser before the evening’s big one, I’m obviously talking about the major Championship mash up between high-flying Leeds and almost-as-high-flying CarrickBro. Girona are not obvious Champions League contenders, hence their results so far ? But it is a stunningly beautiful town once you make it in through the outskirts. Last time I was there we saw a film crew doing an episode of Game of Thrones. Really, THAT beautiful.

“It’s also just a mis-shapen/decorated stone’s throw away from the Costa Brava (Wild Coast), Salvador Dali and Gaudi-land, so Slot’s lot should expect some wild, surreal architectural positioning in how their opponents set up to deal with their attacking threat (Mo Salah). Girona have made the most of their Etihad sponduliks, and I’m sure it would go down well in Manchester if they could do one on the reds tonight. All the same, 1 - 3, eh ?”

I have been to the Costa Brava. Calella de la Costa. Watched the 1994 World Cup final there. Apart from our party of six lads from Cheshire everyone else there was German or Danish. The music was either Whigfield, Gabber techno or grunge metal. A fantastic fortnight. I have also been to Girona airport on a number of occasions. It’s about as near Barcelona as London Southend is from London.

Confirmed: Alisson is back

Tonight’s Champions League fixtures, UK times.

• Dinamo Zagreb v Celtic, 17:45

• Girona v Liverpool, 17:45

• Brest v PSV, 20:00

• Shakhtar Donetsk v Bayern Munich, 20:00

• Club Brugge v Sporting, 20:00

• RB Salzburg v PSG, 20:00

• RB Leipzig v Aston Villa, 20:00

• Bayer Leverkusen v Inter, 20:00

• Atalanta v Real Madrid, 20:00

Could this be the night Alisson returns? Last seen at Crystal Palace in October, and out for longer than expected. Caoimhin Kelleher has done just fine, though his error against Newcastle had Liverpool fans yearning for the Brazilian.

The Champions League has been rather different to what many expected. Has it actually been better? There’s a case for that. Perhaps it’s the novelty value.

Yet some voices within European football urge caution and believe bigger scores are a consequence, intended or not, of the expanded format’s rules. The argument is persuasive: with so many teams bunched together, and goal difference certain to be a deciding factor for key positions in the table, many have simply appreciated the benefits of turning the screw. It can effectively count for the extra point that separates success from early elimination. Previously, the restrictive head-to-head rule had been the tie-breaker for league‑phase deadlocks.

Preamble