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Following reports earlier today that Liverpool would be facing off against Barcelona in Dublin as part of the International Champions Cup, some American Liverpool fans wondered what that meant for the club’s plans to head back to the United States for their pre-season tour.
Any fears were quickly allayed when the club’s full ICC slate was set out. The final match may be against Barcelona on the 6th of August from an "unannounced" European venue widely believed to be Dublin, but their first two ICC matches will be from California as they head to America’s Pacific coast.
The first is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, July 27th in Los Angeles when they face Chelsea at the Rose Bowl. Kickoff is set for 8:30PM local time, which makes for a rather awkward 4:30AM in Liverpool. The second sees them head north to San Jose to face AC Milan on the 30th with a 7PM kickoff.
It is further expected that the club will try to fit in at least one more North American stop in, and while many would expect Boston to be a destination given the club’s owners reside there, another west coast date that would see them face LA Galaxy and ex-captain Steven Gerrard might well be the safer bet.
A reminder of who #LFC will be facing in the 2016 @IntChampionsCup this summer... pic.twitter.com/v4DrQ5qu20
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) March 22, 2016
Liverpool, Chelsea, AC Milan, and Barcelona will be joined in the ICC this summer by Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, and Paris Saint-Germain as well as presumptive English and Scottish champions Leicester City and Celtic. Celtic and Barcelona will play all their games in Europe.
For the rest of the clubs and matches, the dates are mostly in the United States, including what would appear to be the headlining match for the entire tournament: Bayern Munich and Real Madrid facing off in New York on August 3rd.
Pre-sales start next week for #ICC2016. Stay tuned for more information! pic.twitter.com/QxIGxEq1Wo
— Int Champions Cup (@IntChampionsCup) March 22, 2016