Pre-season is coming to an end for Liverpool, with one final chance to go through their paces before the season begins.
Liverpool 14/1 to lift Premier League
Jurgen Klopp's men travel to Dublin's Aviva Stadium on Saturday, where La Liga side Athletic Bilbao await for what promises to be a fascinating friendly clash.
With the Premier League campaign starting in a week and a Champions League tie against Hoffenheim following in close pursuit, Klopp will be looking for strong performances from his men against more than respectable opposition.
| Game | Liverpool vs Athletic Bilbao |
| Date | Saturday, August 5 |
| Time | 17:15 (BST) |
TV CHANNEL & LIVE STREAM
Propoganda Photo
In the UK, the match will be available to watch live on television on LFC TV and by stream via LFC TV Go.
| UK TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| LFC TV | LFC TV Go |
SQUAD & TEAM NEWS
There are no short of injury worries for Liverpool going into the final week of pre-season. Adam Lallana, Daniel Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho are all confirmed absentees against Athletic, leaving Klopp with precious few options up front.
Nathaniel Clyne also misses out, giving young right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold the chance to shine. In goal Simon Mignolet is expected to get the nod over Loris Karius and Danny Ward, a move that would confirm the Belgian as likely first choice for the coming campaign.
Possible line-up: Mignolet; Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Lovren, Robertson; Henderson, Wijnaldum; Salah, Firmino, Mane; Origi.
Athletic, meanwhile, take a weakened side to Dublin, with several first-team players not included in the squad to take on the Reds.
Aymeric Laporte is one of the Bilbao-based side's high-profile names to miss out, while Raul Garcia, Aditz Aduriz and captain Markel Susaeta are also absent for the friendly.
It will be up to some of the members of Athletic's famed cantera, then, to keep Liverpool at bay, with youngsters like Asier Villalibre, 19, and 23-year-old Ager Aketxe in line to play.
Possible line-up: Arrizabalaga; Boveda, Lekue, De Marcos, Balenziaga; San Jose, Vesga; Williams, Aketxe, Sabin; Villalibre.
BETTING & MATCH ODDS
@AthleticClub
Liverpool are 4/9 favourites to win, according to dabblebet, while Athletic are 16/5 to prevail. A draw is given at 4/1.
Click here to view dabblebet's full selection of football markets.
GAME PREVIEW
Martin Rose
It has been a long, busy pre-season for Liverpool, but also a productive one that has yielded a handful of very promising results.
Reds fans were sent dreaming with a 3-0 Audi Cup thrashing of Bayern Munich, a fantastic win in the Bavarians' own backyard which showed off a dynamic new attack invigorated by the acquisition of Mohamed Salah from Roma.
Liverpool may have eventually missed out on the Audi Cup by losing the final on penalties to Atletico Madrid, but a pre-season run of five wins and two draws makes very pleasing reading indeed for Jurgen Klopp.
The latest summer transfer rumours
Less encouraging, however, has been the news circulating away from the pitch.
Philippe Coutinho misses the Athletic Bilbao clash amid heavy speculation he is the man earmarked by Barcelona as the high-profile signing needed in the wake of Neymar's exit. A serious injury to Adam Lallana too leaves the winger immobile for several months, a blow ahead of what is likely to be a packed season at Anfield.
Athletic are beginning a new era under the eye of Jose Angel Ziganda, after Ernesto Valverde turned his back on the Basques to take up the vacant Barca post.
As always at San Mames transfer speculation has revolved more around who could leave than who may arrive, and the continued presence of Aymeric Laporte in the squad - although he will not feature on Saturday - represents a big boost.
A seventh-placed finish in La Liga last season was good enough to claim a Europa League berth, with the first qualifying round easily negotiated at the expense of Dinamo Bucharest. Just like Liverpool, Athletic will be venturing back into continental competition with a play-off against Panathinaikos, meaning this game is the perfect chance for the team to tune up before the action begins for real.
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