Why Liverpool is playing two matches in a day after Arne Slot explanation

Liverpool will round-off it's pre-season preparations this weekend with two fixtures in the same day against Sevilla and Las Palmas.

The La Liga duo both travel to Anfield on Sunday as part of the Reds' final workouts ahead of the new season, with Arne Slot's side kicking off its Premier League campaign away to newly-promoted Ipswich Town next weekend.

Liverpool was originally only supposed to play Sevilla in it's final pre-season friendly (12:30pm BST), yet it was recently announced that a second fixture would take place later that same day, with a second team set to take on Las Palmas at 5:30pm (BST).

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However, only the game against Sevilla will be watched by fans, with the second fixture scheduled to be played behind-closed-doors, creating a curious afternoon of football against the two La Liga opponents.

And according to Slot, the idea is to allow as many players as possible to get minutes under their belts ahead of next weeks season curtain-raiser against Ipswich, with a the ECHO reporting a 26-man squad had trained on Friday.

“For sure, having everyone back will help us to continue improving as we head into the new season," he wrote in his program notes ahead of the games. "Those players will get some minutes under their belt [on Sunday] – this was the main reason we arranged two fixtures for this weekend – which is, of course, hugely important with the league season on the horizon."

With this in mind, it can be expected that the majority of players should at least get 45 minutes each across the two games, although whether any of those who feature in the first game will play in the second is unlikely.

Due to the quality of both sides, it is assumed that the stronger squad will face Sevilla, who finished a disappointing 14th in La Liga last season. Los Nervionenses, notorious for being Europa League experts, have a former Red in their ranks in the form of Spanish winger Suso.

Las Palmas only finished one point and two places below its La Liga counterparts last season and will be looking to cause an upset when it comes to Anfield this weekend. Ironically, they have recently signed former Manchester United winger Adnan Januzaj from Sevilla, who will look to impress against the Reds.