Jay Percy discusses what fans can expect to see from Liverpool’s pre-season tour of the United States, with games against Dortmund and the Manchester clubs.
There is no doubt that Liverpool have had quite a successful pre-season so far, with wins over Chester, Tranmere and Blackburn, however, none of these sides have enough quality to test Liverpool.
With the real tests awaiting the Reds in the United States, it will be interesting to see how Klopp’s side handle playing against some of Europe’s elite.
The Liverpool squad includes: Karius, Clyne, Fabinho, Van Dijk, Wijnaldum, Milner, Keita, Mane, Salah, Gomez, Sturridge, Grujic, Klavan, Moreno, Lallana, Shaqiri, Robertson, Origi, Solanke, Matip, Phillips, Jones, Markovic, Ojo, Woodburn, Kelleher, Camacho, Chirivella, Grabara.
New signing Alisson Becker is expected to join up with the rest of the squad after the US tour. Captain Jordan Henderson along with Dejan Lovren, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Roberto Firmino are expected to join up with the squad sometime in the foreseeable future, however, the date is yet to be confirmed.
Liverpool kick off their US tour against a Borussia Dortmund side that has recently overcome Manchester City. Liverpool have the edge over the German side, winning 2 out of the 5 games recent games between the two sides with Dortmund only winning 1.
The German outfit hasn’t really purchased any high caliber players as of yet, so whether they will test Liverpool is unknown. Considering the main objective of a pre-season tour is to get the squad match fit, it will also be a marker of how they (the youngsters included) have progressed since the end of last season.
For the boss, this will be a chance to pit his latest project against his greatest creation.
Swiss forward Xherdan Shaqiri may be in contention to start the Dortmund game, in order for him to get both game time and to bond with his teammates.
Despite it being likely that he won’t start often for Liverpool throughout the Premier League campaign, it is vital that he is on the same page with the other squad players, especially the front three, due to the fact that most of his appearances will be from off the bench replacing either Mane, Salah or Firmino.
Klopp’s side then plays current Premier League champions Manchester City. Arguably the toughest game out of the three that the Reds will play and it will be engaging to see whether the quality and depth of the new look squad matches the level of City’s.
However, with a large amount of the Manchester clubs players recovering from the World Cup, Klopp’s Liverpool side will certainly not be fielded against a strong City side. Expect a mix of first-team players like van Dijk, Fabinho and Keïta alongside some young names like Curtis Jones, Ben Woodburn for example.
Both Naby Keïta and Fabinho have been excellent in the Reds’ pre-season so far. Naby was excellent against Blackburn on Thursday providing an assist for Daniel Sturridge. His link up play with the Englishman and his ability to win the ball back and drive forward with pace was on show and may well may be a sign of things to come going forward.
On the topic of Daniel Sturridge, his pre-season has involved goals against Blackburn and Chester and he has looked sharp throughout.
As we know, the issue with Sturridge is his fitness. If Sturridge can stay fit, he certainly has the potential to be key to Liverpool’s season, especially in the latter stages and in the cup runs.
The US tour will be a good indication of whether he is match ready as Klopp’s Liverpool play three matches against a good quality of opposition within the space of two weeks.
Although Fabinho hasn’t really stood out in pre-season until now, his work does go unnoticed to a certain extent. His job is to solidify the midfield and provide protection for the back four by picking up second balls etc, similar to the role of Lucas Leiva.
The Brazilian has been successful as a Red so far with Liverpool keeping 3 clean sheets out of a possible 4. However, the level of opposition will increase on the US tour, so it will be interesting to see how he, along with Keïta cope with the attacking threat of teams like Borussia Dortmund, Manchester City and Manchester United.
The final game of the US pre-season tour is against rivals Manchester United. By then, hopefully, Shaqiri will have gelled with the squad and all first team players will be match fit.
Klopp may field a stronger Liverpool side for the last game of the tour as over 100,000 fans are expected to witness this match and there is no doubt that they will want to see the best players in action!
So, what can we expect from the Reds’ pre season US tour? Hopefully a good level of fitness, well-rounded performances from the summer additions and wins of course! These are the last few games of Liverpool’s pre season, so it will be an indication of things to come post July.
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