Liverpool v Athletic Club preview: Team news, lineups, predictions
Liverpool conclude their pre-season preparations with a double-header against Athletic Club at Anfield.
Arne Slot will be pleased with what he has seen so far in pre-season, with the 4-2 defeat to AC Milan the only blemish on an otherwise perfect record.
The Reds came from behind to defeat Yokohama F. Marinos 3-1 in Japan on Wednesday (30 July), with the state of the pitch taking the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
Slot will be delighted to be back on home soil, and will use both games on Monday (4 August) to assess his side ahead of next week’s Community Shield against Crystal Palace.
With all that in mind, Liverpool News provides a preview of the upcoming clash.
Team news
Liverpool could again be without Alisson Becker for the two 90-minute games against Bilbao.
Alisson missed the victory over Yokohama, citing personal reasons as the explanation for his absence, and has returned to Brazil which means he is expected to miss Monday’s clashes.
Joe Gomez is also set to miss the Anfield games due to an Achilles injury sustained while in Hong Kong.
The rest of the squad is expected to be available, with Federico Chiesa back in contention after missing the Asian tour.
Anfield debuts could be handed out to Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong, Hugo Ekitike, Giorgi Mamardashvili and Milos Kerkez, among others.
Lineups
The line-up for the first game is expected to be weakened, mostly featuring players expected to be on the fringes this season.
Darwin Nunez is expected to lead the line amid interest from Al-Hilal and AC Milan, while the likes of Wataru Endo and Kostas Tsimikas could play out of position.
First Liverpool predicted XI: Woodman; Frimpong, Endo, Tsimikas, Robertson, Jones, Gravenberch, Elliott, Chiesa, Nunez, Ngumoha
| Liverpool’s pre-season friendlies | Result |
| Preston North End (A) | W 3-1 |
| Stoke City (H) | W 5-0 |
| AC Milan (N) | L 4-2 |
| Yokohama F. Marinos (A) | W 3-1 |
The second side will likely see the starters return, with the much-anticipated home debut over record-signing Wirtz being the main attraction.
Ekitike will be expected to lead the line, with Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo supporting down the flanks.
Second Liverpool predicted XI: Mamardashvili; Bradley, Van Dijk, Konate, Kerkez, Szoboszlai, Mac Allister, Salah, Wirtz, Gakpo, Ekitike
Game one prediction: Liverpool 2-2 Athletic Club
Given how weak the predicted team is for game one, the prospect of Bilbao getting a result is quite likely.
However, this does depend on the approach the Spanish side go with the second game in mind.
Game two prediction: Liverpool 4-1 Athletic Club
An almost full-strength Liverpool side should be able to win comfortably against the Spanish side, and will be used as an opportunity to build up more confidence ahead of an exciting season.
Given how many goals the Reds have scored this pre-season, Bilbao could be put to the slaughter if everything clicks into gear.
Sign up for the Liverpool News WhatsApp channel and turn on notifications to have all the latest, breaking Liverpool news sent straight to your phone.