Following a flawless tour of the United States, Liverpool will return to their Anfield base on Sunday lunchtime, where Sevilla will be waiting for them for their summer’s penultimate friendly.
The 12.30 p.m. match comes before a private match between Las Palmas and the recently appointed Arne Slot, who makes his first appearance on the Kop this weekend.
Although Preston North End unexpectedly defeated Slot’s Liverpool team in their first friendly of the summer, the Reds were essentially unstoppable in front of American fans throughout their transatlantic tour. First impressions may not have gone as Slot had hoped this summer.
Liverpool avenged last year’s FA Cup winners Manchester United, who were destroyed 3-0 by their long-time rivals in Columbia, after victories by one goal against Real Betis and probable Premier League championship opponents Arsenal.
Pre-season sensation Fabio Carvalho opened the score in a match that also saw goals from Curtis Jones and Kostas Tsimikas, as Slot defeated Erik ten Hag, the former head coach of the Eredivisie, before the Reds turned down a £15 million approach from Southampton for his services.
After establishing a solid rapport with the Liverpool administration and supporters—who are frustrated with the team’s remarkably low transfer activity thus far—Slot will be manning the Anfield touchline for the first time on Sunday when two friendly are scheduled to take place in a few hours.
Suspected to be worried about his stars’ lack of preparation time for the Euros and Copa America, Slot successfully lobbied for a second friendly against Las Palmas to be played on August 11 instead of the Sevilla match; however, that match will be played behind closed doors.
As many as 61,276 supporters will be able to find seats at Anfield for Sunday’s first match, thanks to renovations made to the Anfield Road Stand over the past few months. This will set a new club record for Liverpool, as 60,090 people attended their team’s April defeat to Crystal Palace.
Powerhouses in La Liga Sevilla, who also hope to ruin a Merseyside celebration on Sunday, are attempting to win four straight friendly matches after losing to Sporting Lisbon and Orlando Pirates in July.
After defeating Granada 2-0 and Al-Ittihad 1-0, Garcia Pimienta’s team is now fully on the bounce as on August 5, Los Palanganas defeated Fulham 2-1 in Portugal, with two goals from Isaac Romero and a consolation goal from Emile Smith Rowe.
Preseason performances should always be interpreted with caution, particularly in a year with several Olympic, Copa America, and European competitions. However, Sevilla is likely to improve upon their disappointing 14th-place La Liga finish from the previous season—they were even briefly considered for relegation in 2023–2024.
Coincidentally, Sevilla’s first La Liga opponents on August 16 will be Liverpool’s Sunday night opponents Las Palmas. Los Palanganas had never lost to the six-time European champions in their three prior competitive matches, which included the 2016 Europa League final.
Numerous players from the Euros and Copa America have returned to Liverpool’s Kirkby training facility, where players including Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Alisson Becker, Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez, and Cody Gakpo are being worked hard.
Though Dominik Szoboszlai was rested for the Man United match owing to weariness, he looks to have a decent chance of playing this weekend. Meanwhile, left-back Andrew Robertson is still recovering from his foot injury sustained at the Euros.
Although Bobby Clark cannot say the same, Jones has confirmed that he is fully functional despite a back issue. Wataru Endo may fill in at number six for the time being while the Reds try to sign Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad.
In terms of Sevilla’s availability, Copa champion Gonzalo Montiel and Euro 2024 winner Jesus Navas—who plans to retire the next year before turning 39—should be back in the running, although Marcos Acuna, a fellow countryman, is recovering from a muscular ailment.
Along with Juanlu Sanchez of Spain and Loic Bade of France, who will take time off to recuperate following their gold medal matches at the Olympics, Albert Sambi Lokonga, an Arsenal loanee, is also anticipated to miss the first few weeks of the season due to a hamstring issue.
Spanish forward Suso, who was signed by Anfield from 2010 to 2015, is back at the team for which he made just 21 appearances in his four and a half years there. However, the 30-year-old shouldn’t be taken lightly from the opening whistle.
Possible starting lineup for Liverpool: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Tsimikas; Elliott, Endo, Gravenberch; Salah, Nunez, Carvalho.
Possible starting lineup for Sevilla: Lukebakio, Romero, Ocampos; Saul, Sow, Bueno; Nyland, Angel, Nianzou, Gudelj, Pedrosa
Prediction: Liverpool 3-1 Sevilla
Sevilla could expect a difficult ride on Merseyside with periphery players like Carvalho and Elliott proving valuable to Slot and the majority of big-hitters scheduled to return in front of the Anfield faithful.
Still lacking a number of players because of international duty or injuries, especially in the defensive department, Los Palanganas should be doomed to a crushing defeat as Slot has a successful debut for Anfield.
