After ending their Singapore trip with an enthralling 4-3 defeat to German champions Bayern Munich on Wednesday, Liverpool now prepare to welcome Darmstadt to Preston North End’s Deepdale Stadium, in their final game of pre-season.
The Reds are days away from beginning their 2023/24 Premier League campaign with a trip to Stamford Bridge, and clues relating to Klopp’s team selection may become apparent through which players are given more minutes against the German side on Monday.
As the new season gets ever-closer, Liverpool’s encounter with Bayern saw players get more than 45 minutes on the pitch, for the first time this summer, providing an indication as to who is in contention to start against Mauricio Pochettino’s side next Sunday.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Reds’ final pre-season clash.
DATE, KICK-OFF AND STADIUM
Date: Monday 7th August 2023
Kick-off: 19:00 BST
Stadium: Deepdale Stadium (23,408 capacity.
WHO ARE DARMSTADT?
Based in the southwestern Germany, Darmstadt are a newly-promoted Bundesliga side after gaining promotion from the second tier last season. The German side are managed by Torsten Lieberknecht.
They are two time champions of 2. Bundesliga and their last stint in the top tier of German Football ended in 2017.
Former players include Southampton academy graduate Christoph Klarer and former RB Salzburg winger Mathias Honsak.
WHERE TO WATCH LIVERPOOL VS DARMSTADT ON TV
Liverpool vs Darmstadt is available to watch live on LFCTV and LFCTV GO.
LIVERPOOL TEAM NEWS
It will come with great relief to Klopp that Liverpool have no fresh injury concerns as they travelled back from Singapore on Wednesday evening.
The Reds have been provided with a huge boost to their midfield with duo Stefan Bajcetic and Thiago Alcantara set to return to training ahead of Liverpool’s trip to Stamford Bridge. However, featuring against Darmstadt may come too soon for the pair.
The Spaniards and Conor Bradley didn’t travel with the squad on their Asia tour, as they continued their rehabilitation at the AXA Training Centre.
Worries regarding Alexis Mac Allister’s injury against Bayern was imminently played down by Klopp, with the Argentine only suffering a bruised knee courtesy of a knee-on-knee collision. The midfielder had told Klopp he would’ve been fine to carry on, but risks will never be taken in friendlies. It is unclear whether the World Cup winner will be used at Deepdale on Monday.
PREDICTED LINEUP:
Here’s how Liverpool could start the game against Darmstadt on Monday:
(4-3-3) Alisson; Trent Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Virgil van Dijk, Andy Robertson; Curtis Jones, Harvey Elliott, Dominik Szoboszlai; Mohamed Salah, Cody Gakpo, Luis Diaz.
PREDICTION:
Goals have come in abundance for Liverpool this summer, scoring 15 times in four outings. However, conceding ten times has raised questions regarding Liverpool’s backline. Klopp will want a more defensively sound performance at Deepdale as they fine tune preparations for their trip to the capital next weekend.
With competition for places evident, don’t be surprised to see Liverpool treat this like a competitive game, with players looking to prove to Klopp why they should start against Chelsea next Sunday
.Liverpool 4-0 Darmstadt
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