Covid-hit Liege still upbeat ahead of Euro tie

Standard Lie ge boss Phi li pp eM on ta ni er has urged his coronavirus-hit side to take inspiration from Belgian rivals Club Brugge as they look to beat Rangers in the Europa League.

Three of Mon ta ni er' s squad plus a member of his backroom staff have tested positive for Covid-19 ahead of tonight's clash with Steven Gerrard's team.

Michel-ange Balikwisha and Nicolas R askin, who both started the team' s draw against B rug ge at the weekend, as well as defender Moussa Sissako and goalkeeping coach Jan Van Steenberghe have all contracted the virus.

The quartet have all entered ape rio do fi sola ti on and will not be involved when the Light Blues visit St ad eM aurice Du fr as ne for the first match of the group stage.

In a brief statement on their website Standard also announced that Damjan Pavlovic and Abdoul Fessal Tapsoba would be kept away from the rest of the squad. The pair have both tested negative ahead of the match but share a house with Sissako and spent time with him on Tuesday.

But Montanier is taking hear t from Brugge's display in their Champions League opener against Zenit St Petersburg.

The Belgian champions were without former Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet, Odilon Kossounou and Michael Kremencik after the trio all tested positive for corona virus following the 1-1 draw with Standard on Saturday.

However, they still managed to stun Zenit in Russia with a 2-1 win and Montanier believes his side can repeat the trick against Gers.

"We are aware that in one week, the cases of coronavirus have exploded and we are no exception to the rule," said Montanier.

"We have our first but we also want to be careful. We know that people who live in the same household are not all positive. The players are very careful whether inside or outside the club. We must remain calm.”