Liverpool concludes its tour of the United States later as it faces its old rival Manchester United in South Carolina .
It will be Arne Slot’s first taste of English football’s biggest game, although he will come up against a familiar face. The former Feyenoord boss will renew his rivalry with Erik ten Hag , having come up against him previously during the United manager’s time at Ajax.
With Slot’s squad coming together now after a long international summer, we are starting to get a better idea of who will be in his first-choice XI once the season gets underway at Ipswich on August 17.
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The Liverpool boss is still missing Trent Alexander-Arnold , Joe Gomez , Virgil van Dijk , Cody Gakpo , Alisson Becker , Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez , although they should all be back in training next week when the Reds return to the AXA Training Centre in Kirkby.
Ahead of his first encounter with United though, Slot does have Alexis Mac Allister to call upon, fresh from adding another medal to his collection after winning the Copa America with Argentina. It’s unlikely we’ll see him in action in South Carolina though, judging by the fact Diogo Jota , Ibrahima Konate and Ryan Gravenberch all sat out their first friendlies back after returning to training.
As the new season draws into view, with just two weeks remaining now before the Reds head out on the road, Slot will no doubt want to get as many minutes into the legs of those he will look to start at Ipswich. Therefore, we might not see many, if any, changes from the side that started the 2-1 win over Arsenal on Wednesday.
Konate is perhaps the most likely to come into the side, with the French international aiming to earn back his place in the heart of the defense after losing it to Jarell Quansah at the end of last season. He could come in for Sepp van den Berg today as Slot works out his strongest options.
It’s likely to be as you were in the rest of the side. That means Wataru Endo missing out on a starting berth once again, with the Japan international’s future looking more and more uncertain as the summer goes on.
The 31-year-old may well come into the reckoning today should Slot decide to give Curtis Jones a rest after his injury scare against Real Betis. Having shown no ill effects against Arsenal though, the academy graduate will be expected to start again.
Elsewhere, Harvey Elliott will have another chance to nail down his place in the side after an impressive showing the Gunners. Jota, meanwhile, will likely lead the line again, and will be hoping to return to scoring ways after missing a couple of great opportunities in midweek.
Liverpool predicted line-up vs Manchester United: Kelleher; Bradley, Konate, Quansah, Tsimikas; Elliott, Jones, Szoboszlai; Salah, Jota, Carvalho.
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