Liverpool are back at Anfield on Monday for a unique pre-season doubleheader against La Liga side Athletic Club following their tour of Asia.
Two separate friendlies will be played on the same day, giving supporters the chance to see Arne Slot’s squad in action twice as preparations continue ahead of next weekend’s Community Shield meeting with Crystal Palace at Wembley.
The return to home turf will be an emotional one with fans set to pay tribute to Diogo Jota before the first game kicks off. The Portugal international, who passed away alongside his brother following a car accident on July 3, will be honoured in what promises to be another poignant Anfield occasion.
How to watch
The first of the two fixtures against the Basque side will begin at 5pm BST with the second scheduled to start at 8pm BST.
Both games will be broadcast live on LFCTV and All Red Video, offering supporters worldwide the opportunity to watch the action as the squad continues its build-up to the new season.
Team form
Liverpool are unbeaten in their four previous encounters with Athletic Club, though two of those fixtures have been friendlies. The last meeting came in August 2021 at Anfield and ended in a 1-1 draw.
The two fixtures marks the reigning champions first action on home soil since victories over Preston North End and Stoke City earlier in the summer. Those results were followed by a mixed tour in Asia, which included a counter-attacking defeat to AC Milan, but ended on a high with a 3–1 comeback win over Yokohama F. Marinos in Japan.
The Spanish side come into these fixtures after a mixed set of results in pre-season. Ernesto Valverde’s men opened their campaign with a 1-0 win over SD Ponferradina but have since fallen to narrow defeats against Deportivo Alaves, PSV Eindhoven and Racing Santander. With their La Liga season drawing near, they are expected to provide a disciplined test for Slot’s squad.
Team news and predicted lineups
Arne Slot will have been encouraged by the attacking verve shown by his players so far, with eight goals scored across three pre-season matches. New signing Florian Wirtz was on the scoresheet against Marinos, while Alexis Mac Allister made his return from injury during the same fixture. The Argentine is expected to feature in midfield again alongside Curtis Jones, with Harvey Elliott also in line for more minutes.
For the Anfield crowd, Monday will be a rare opportunity to watch two different Liverpool teams in a single day, as excitement grows for the season ahead.
Mohamed Salah has looked sharp, while 16-year-old Rio Ngumoha caught the eye in Asia with an impressive cameo that underlined why he is regarded as one of the brightest prospects at the club. Monday will also see Hugo Ekitiké make his first appearance in front of the Anfield crowd after his £79 million move from Eintracht Frankfurt. The striker made his debut during the tour and will be given more time to impress in these two games.
Liverpool’s four summer signings Wirtz, Ekitike, Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez—are all expected to feature across the two matches. However, the squad will be without first-choice goalkeeper Alisson, who misses out due to personal reasons.
5pm kick-off
Liverpool (4-3-3): Woodman; Bradley, Gravenberch, Van Dijk, Kerkez; Jones, Mac Allister, Elliott; Salah, Ngumoha, Ekitiké.
Athletic Club (4-4-1-1): Unai Simón; Ares, Lekue, Vivian, Boiró; Jaureguizar, Vesga, Iñaki Williams, Beñat Gomez; Nico Williams; Guruzeta.
8pm kick-off
Liverpool (4-3-2-1): Mamardashvili; Frimpong, Konaté, Tsimikas, Robertson; Szoboszlai, Endo; Doak, Wirtz, Gakpo; Núñez.
Athletic Club (4-4-1-1): Agirrezabala; De Marcos, Paredes, Martinez, Garcia; Prados, Dani Garcia, Berenguer, Adu Ares; Raul Garcia; Villalibre.
