On the back of an unblemished USA tour, Liverpool return to their Anfield base on Sunday lunchtime, where Sevilla are lying in wait for their penultimate friendly of the summer.
The 12.30pm encounter precedes a behind-closed-doors clash with Las Palmas for newly-appointed Arne Slot, who lays eyes on the Kop for the very first time this weekend.
Match preview
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First impressions may not have gone the way Slot expected this summer, as his Liverpool side were surprisingly undone by Preston North End in their opening friendly of the summer, but the Reds were largely irrepressible in front of American crowds during their transatlantic jaunt.
Following one-goal successes over Real Betis and potential Premier League title foes Arsenal, Liverpool exacted revenge over last year's FA Cup conquerors Manchester United, who fell victim to a 3-0 trouncing at the hands of their long-time rivals in Columbia.
Before the Reds rejected a £15m bid from Southampton for his services, pre-season star Fabio Carvalho opened the scoring in a contest where Curtis Jones and Kostas Tsimikas also made the net bulge, as Slot won the head-to-head of the ex-Eredivisie coaches with Erik ten Hag.
Having already built plenty of credit in the bank with the Liverpool hierarchy and fanbase, who are disillusioned by their side's extremely quiet transfer activity so far, Slot mans the Anfield touchline for the first time on Sunday, where two friendlies will take place in a matter of hours.
Supposedly concerned about a lack of preparation time for his Euros and Copa America stars, Slot successfully argued for a second friendly against Las Palmas to take place on August 11, although that encounter will take place behind closed doors as opposed to the Sevilla showdown.
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Thanks to the redevelopment of the Anfield Road Stand over the past several months, as many as 61,276 fans will be able to take their seats at Anfield for Sunday's first battle, which would represent a new club record for Liverpool after 60,090 flocked in to witness their side lose to Crystal Palace in April.
Also aiming to spoil a Merseyside party on Sunday, La Liga powerhouses Sevilla are on the hunt for their fourth friendly win on the bounce, having also kicked off the summer on the wrong foot with defeats to Orlando Pirates and Sporting Lisbon in July.
The new manager bounce is now in full effect for Garcia Pimienta's troops, though, as following a 1-0 victory over Al-Ittihad and 2-0 beating of Granada, Los Palanganas edged out Fulham 2-1 in Portugal on August 5, where Isaac Romero struck twice before Emile Smith Rowe's consolation.
While pre-season results must always be taken with a pinch of salt - especially in a Euros/Copa America/Olympics year - an improvement on last year's dampening 14th-placed La Liga finish looks likely for Sevilla, who were even in the relegation picture for a short while in 2023-24.
Coincidentally, Liverpool's Sunday evening opponents Las Palmas will be Sevilla's first La Liga foes on August 16, and from three previous competitive battles - including the 2016 Europa League final - Los Palanganas have no defeats to their name against the six-time European champions.
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Team News
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A plethora of Euros and Copa America representatives have now returned to Liverpool training at Kirkby, where Joe Gomez, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Alisson Becker, Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez, Cody Gakpo and Virgil van Dijk are all being put through their paces.
However, left-back Andrew Robertson is yet to make a full recovery from the foot injury he picked up at the Euros, while Dominik Szoboszlai was not risked for the Man United clash due to fatigue but seemingly has a good chance of making the cut this weekend.
Jones has also affirmed that he is fully operational despite a back concern - the same cannot be said about Bobby Clark, though - and while the Reds work to sign Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad, Wataru Endo may fulfil number six duties for now.
Regarding Sevilla's availability, Euro 2024 winner Jesus Navas - who is set to retire next year ahead of his 39th birthday - should be back in contention, as should Copa champion Gonzalo Montiel, but his compatriot Marcos Acuna is nursing a muscular issue.
Arsenal loanee Albert Sambi Lokonga is also expected to miss the first couple of weeks of the season with a hamstring problem, while Spain's Juanlu Sanchez and France's Loic Bade will take time out to recover from the Olympics gold medal match.
On the books at Anfield from 2010 to 2015, Spanish attacker Suso returns to the club he made just 21 appearances for during his four-and-a-half-year spell, although the 30-year-old should not be seen from the first whistle.
Liverpool possible starting lineup:
Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Tsimikas; Elliott, Endo, Gravenberch; Salah, Nunez, Carvalho
Sevilla possible starting lineup:
Nyland; Angel, Nianzou, Gudelj, Pedrosa; Saul, Sow, Bueno; Lukebakio, Romero, Ocampos
We say: Liverpool 3-1 Sevilla
With fringe troops such as Carvalho and Elliott proving their worth to Slot and a bulk of big-hitters set to return in front of the Anfield faithful, Sevilla ought to be in for a rough ride on Merseyside.
Still without several players due to international commitments or injury - particularly on the defensive end - Los Palanganas should be condemned to a comprehensive loss as Slot makes a winning start to his Anfield career.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ben Knapton
