Liverpool round off their pre-season schedule against Darmstadt at Deepdale on Monday evening.
Jurgen Klopp’s men have enjoyed fruitful ventures in Germany and Singapore thus far this summer, flexing their formidable attacking muscle despite their continued defensive lapses.
The Reds return to England to face a Darmstadt side high on winning promotion back to the Bundesliga at the end of last season.
Here’s how Klopp could set his side out on Monday.
GK: Alisson – Should Arsenal sign David Raya from Brentford, four of Liverpool’s five ‘big six’ rivals will have added new goalkeepers to their squads this summer. The Reds have an assured and trusted presence in Alisson.
RB: Trent Alexander-Arnold – Should he start at right-back or in midfield? The 4-3 loss to Bayern Munich suggests Klopp may want to give more thought to the latter.
CB: Ibrahima Konate – Liverpool have been linked with several centre-backs this summer but have not strengthened in that position, meaning Konate’s place should be safe for the time being.
CB: Virgil van Dijk – Only the fifth permanent Liverpool captain since the turn of the century, following in the footsteps of Jamie Redknapp, Sami Hyppia, Steven Gerrard and the recently departed Jordan Henderson.
LB: Andy Robertson – One of the Reds’ most consistent performers last season despite the world (fellow defenders) around him caving in.
DM: Curtis Jones – It’s hard to imagine that Jones as the holding midfielder is Liverpool’s long-term solution to replacing Fabinho, but it’s a short-term fix that Klopp is working with.
CM: Dominik Szoboszlai – The Hungary international has already missed one game with injury this pre-season and will be hoping to emerge from this final test unscathed ahead of next Sunday’s trip to Chelsea.
CM: Alexis Mac Allister – Klopp confirmed that Mac Allister was hooked against Bayern with a knock as a precaution, meaning the summer signing could keep his starting spot.
RW: Mohamed Salah – Heading into his seventh season with Liverpool. It feels like just yesterday when people were claiming he wouldn’t be able to hack a return to the Premier League.
CF: Cody Gakpo – Darwin Nunez has been pushing hard but it looks like Netherlands star Gakpo will be keeping his spot as Liverpool’s starting striker.
LW: Luis Diaz – The electric Colombian has found his feet again this pre-season, blocking another Nunez route into the XI and keeping the similarly prolific Diogo Jota at bay.
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