Liverpool matches are back soon! Supporters will finally get a glimpse of Arne Slot's side in action this Friday evening (or the early hours of Saturday for those in the UK), and the Reds are already training in Pittsburgh ahead of that game with Real Betis .
An initial 28-man group has travelled to the US, although there's a chance that some of those who have been on holiday after international commitments could join up later in the tour. Diogo Jota , for instance, went out of Euro 2024 at the quarter-final stage, and it's already approaching three weeks since he last played.
In the meantime, though, the chance for more fringe players to impress Slot continues — while senior players like Mohamed Salah , Dominik Szoboszlai and Harvey Elliott get a head-start on the new regime. They duly all look like good bets to start the season.
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But there's plenty of preparation to come between now and then, and it's got underway in Pittsburgh. Here's what we spotted from the latest training session.
Arne Slot puts his stamp on training
Slot's style bears plenty of similarities to that of Jurgen Klopp . Liverpool wouldn't have picked someone intent on going in an entirely different tactical direction.
In training, however, some differences have already become clear. For one thing, the dreaded lactate test was nowhere to be seen at the start of pre-season, although Slot and his coaching staff had lined up a similarly grueling introduction.
And out in the US, another novel aspect has been introduced. The players have been photographed using a large, weighted ball — sprinting in short bursts while receiving and then throwing it away.
No doubt it's designed to help strength and balance. And the players looked to be enjoying it: sometimes a change can be good purely for the sake of shaking things up a bit.
The man in the high tower
Liverpool CEO Billy Hogan revealed earlier this week that the groundsmen had been consulted on all pre-season venues, with high-level training facilities the order of the day. The UPMC Rodney Sports Complex is home to the Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL, as well as the Pittsburgh Panthers of the NCAA.
You can see why Liverpool picked it out. It looks like a high-class venue, with the grass in good condition and an array of top-end gym equipment inside.
One of the more interesting features, though, is a tower overlooking the training pitch. And Liverpool was making use of it, stationing a coach to take advantage of this aerial vantage point.
Either that, or we've just ratted out somebody for sneaking off to take a quick break. But assuming he was meant to be up there (and we're sure he was!), it would be interesting to know what he was trying to glean from this new perspective.
Ben Doak has been busy
All of the players have reported back in good shape, as you'd expect at the very top level of the sport. But some are more notable than others.
We've hardly seen Ben Doak for the last year, due to an unfortunate injury, but he's clearly spent a lot of that time away in the gym. He looks a lot stronger.
We'll probably see him in action on the pitch in the US. It will be good to see how his pace and newfound strength combine — it's been a winning combination for Salah over the years, and the Scot will hope to make a case to be his long-term heir.
Elsewhere, Dominik Szoboszlai is looking as powerful as ever. Salah has reported back in typically pristine condition.
Let the games begin
From Friday evening, we'll no longer need to feed off scraps. But for now, we're reduced to trying to work out what happened in training games.
It seems that Slot did host a mini-match, with pictures showing a number of the players donning red bibs, while the others remained in the green training gear. Kaide Gordon, Wataru Endo and Tyler Morton were among those in red, up against Curtis Jones , Elliott and Sepp van den Berg.
No doubt there was some chopping and changing — yellow bibs entered the fray at one stage, with Endo switching into one of those. But Slot appears to be introducing game scenarios as the season draws ever closer.
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