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What’s that? Real football? OK, maybe not real but like a club friendly with some actual players that we might see tonight? Sign me up!
By all accounts we shouldn’t expect to see anywhere near a full-strength Liverpool side. Some of the best and brightest, including but not limited to Philippe Coutinho, Adam Lallana, and newboy Mohamed Salah will not be featuring tonight. However, captain Jordan Henderson is expected to make a return to the pitch—his first in any capacity for Liverpool since February’s 2-0 win over Spurs. It would also not be a surprise to see a great many subs throughout the match, up to and including two completely different sides in each half. This strategy of deploying two completely changed sides per half would match Klopp’s strategy from last year’s first preseason game, also against Tranmere.
With many of the biggest stars expected to miss, or at the very least have limited action, it will be an opportunity for many academy products to catch the manager’s eye. Liverpool trotted off the pitch victorious in last year’s preseason rendition of this match-up with a 1-0 win, courtesy of a 79th minute Danny Ings strike.
Kickoff: 7:45 PM BST/2:45 PM EST from Prenton Park.
Television: LFCTV (where available).
Online Streaming: LFCTV GO | Online Radio: LFCTV GO
Starting XI: Davies; Buxton, McNulty, Sutton, Ridehalgh; Duggan, Harris, Hughes, Norburn; Cook, Norwood
Bench: Jennings, Pilling, Clarke, Gumbs, Dunn, Solomon-Davies, Owusu, Mangan
First half XI: Karius; Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Lucas, Milner; Henderson, Grujic, Wijnaldum; Ojo, Sturridge, Firmino
Second half XI: Karius; Clyne, Gomez, Klavan, Flanagan; Stewart, Chirivella, Kent; Woodburn, Solanke, Markovic
Additional Subs: Grabara, Randall
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