FIFA has once again decided to schedule a ridiculous international friendly break the week before league football kicks off in England, Spain, and a number of other European countries. Thankfully for Liverpool, this time around many national team managers have looked to employ weakened or experimental lineups, which means Steven Gerrard, Glen Johnson, and Luis Suarez amongst others avoid a needless trip this time around.
Not every Liverpool player has been so lucky, though, and so whether you're looking for something vaguely resembling football to distract you on this Wednesday or it you're putting together a list of which players are most likely to end up injured ahead of Saturday's trip to face West Bromwich Albion, we've got you covered…
7:15PM BST/2:15PM EST — Denmark v. Slovakia
Daniel Agger and Martin Skrtel will captain Denmark and Slovakia respectively in the most interesting game of the day for Liverpool fans—and also the one that will have the most people desperately hoping the players involved come through the match without picking up any knocks. Like every other international match taking place, this one means nothing. But it's got Liverpool's starting centre back pairing facing off, which is something. Just hopefully not something that ends in tears.
7:45PM BST/2:45PM EST — Wales v. Bosnia-Herzegovina
New signing Joe Allen hasn't played for Liverpool yet, but he's expected to start for Wales when they host Bosnia-Herzegovina at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. Fresh off his move away from the club, Craig Bellamy will also see action for the home side.
8PM BST/3PM EST — Scotland v. Australia
Charlie Adam is expected to start for Scotland when they host Australia in Glasgow, and at least in this case it seems far more likely that the Liverpool player will be the one causing any injuries rather than picking them up—at least unless he manages to injure himself with a poor tackle attempt. Meanwhile, despite often making the squad last season despite his lack of consistent playing time, Danny Wilson has been left out of the squad.
8PM BST/3PM EST — England v. Italy
Most of Liverpool's English players have been left at home along with a number of other big names, but Andy Carroll makes the trip. And Roy Hodgson is still the manager. So Carroll could well start and there could also be a lot of route one football in this Euro 2012 quarter-final rematch.
8PM BST/3PM EST — France v. Uruguay
Luis Suarez is thankfully rested, while Sebastian Coates could get a useful start as Oscar Tabarez' Uruguay head to Le Harve as the innaugural opponents for Didier Deschamps' France. An added bonus of Suarez being left out is that nobody will have to talk about Suarez and Patrice Evra, as the Manchester United left back is expected to start for France. Though of course that nobody will have to talk about anything that may or may not have taken place between the two last autumn doesn't mean that nobody will talk about it.
9:30PM BST/4:30PM EST — Puerto Rico v. Spain
Wrapping things up, Pepe Reina has been dragged along to Bayamon, Puerto Rico to man the bench. About all that can be said for this completely meaningless match is that hopefully Reina keeps his watch set to British Summer Time and manages to get some sleep on the flight home.