Having lost two from two on their North American tour, the European champions will look to finish on a high against the Portuguese heavyweights
With no victories to speak of from their pre-season jaunt to the United States yet, Liverpool will hope to conclude their preparations stateside with the spoils when they take on Sporting CP at Yankee Stadium in New York.
The Reds have played two and lost two in dramatic, thrilling encounters with Borussia Dortmund and Sevilla so far on their North American tour and Jurgen Klopp will be looking to finish on a high against the Portuguese heavyweights.
The European champions beat Manchester City here five years ago on penalties but will be hoping Marcel Keizer’s Taca de Liga holders provide less daunting opposition.
The Leoes have never faced the Merseyside club in a competetive encounter before but will still be determined to leave their mark on the Champions League holders.
| Game | Liverpool vs Sporting CP |
| Date | Thursday, July 25 / Wednesday, July 24 |
| Time | 1:05am BST / 8:05pm ET |
In the US, the match can be streamed live on B/R Live.
| US TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| N/A | B/R Live |
In the UK, the match will be shown on LFC TV and can be streamed via LFC TV GO.
| UK TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| LFC TV | LFC TV GO |
| Position | Liverpool squad |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Mignolet, Ojrzynski, Atherton, Lonergan |
| Defenders | Clyne, Van Dijk, Lovren, Gomez, Robertson, Matip, Alexander-Arnold, Van den Berg, Phillips, Lewis, Hoever, Larouci |
| Midfielders | Fabinho, Milner, Henderson, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Lallana, Jones |
| Forwards | Brewster, Origi, Kent, Woodburn, Wilson, Duncan, |
Jurgen Klopp is still nursing some injuries in the shape of Naby Keita and Xherdan Shaqiri, while his first-choice strike trio of Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane remain on holiday.
There could be another start for Harry Wilson as the winger continues to push his claim to remain on the books at Anfield as speculation swirls over his future.
Nathaniel Clyne has returned home after suffering an ACL injury earlier on the tour.
Liverpool confirmed starting XI: Mignolet; Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson; Fabinho, Henderson, Milner; Wijnaldum, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Origi
| Position | Sporting CP squad |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Ribeiro, Maximiano |
| Defenders | Ilori, Coates, Neto, Mathieu, Borja, Mendes, Correia, Quaresma |
| Midfielders | Henrique, Fernandes, Luis, Wendel, Braganca, Doumbia |
| Forwards | Vietto, Raphinha, Plata, Dost, Phellype, Cabral |
Sporting CP have brought the majority of their first team to New York along with a few young guns – but most eyes will be on midfielder Bruno Fernandes.
The midfielder has been linked with a move elsewhere in Europe, with Liverpool themselves one side linked with interest in the 24-year-old alongside Manchester United.
Match Preview
With no wins to show from their first jaunt abroad since becoming European champions, Liverpool will be determined to at least take something away from their pre-season preparations when they face Sporting in their last match stateside at Yankee Stadium in New York.
The Reds have been depleted for their jaunt with key faces such as the forward trio of Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane missing due to international duty in the Copa America and African Cup of Nations respectively, while goalkeeper Alisson is also still on holiday.
But their two tough defeats to Borussia Dortmund and Sevilla have certainly left their mark on Jurgen Klopp’s side ahead of what promisesto be another tough campaign in 2019-20.
Questions have been asked over whether the German needs to bring in fresh reinforcements at Anfield but he has since spoken out, stating that he is happy with his squad and that he will not spend big to tempt new faces to Merseyside.
“I said last year that to improve the team is not easy with reasonable money,” he noted. “With crazy money, you always can do it – okay, you pay whatever you want, then it’s possible.
“We are not a club like that. We cannot do that. We are really wealthy but we cannot do what some other teams are doing. That’s how it is.
“But we don’t have to. We have to find solutions during the season. Yes, you find sometimes the solution in the transfer market and we have done that. I don’t have to name the players, everybody knows. But otherwise you have to find the solutions on the training ground and that’s what we do now.
“It’s about using this team. In the transfer window, you have to build a team that you think you want to go into the season with. But I have that team already. If we can bring somebody else in that makes it even better, we will see. But if not, this team is already there.”
Klopp has also been boosted by the news that the injury to Yasser Larouci sustained against Sevilla is not as serious as first feared, with the youngster previously having been forced to use crutches following Joris Gnagnon’s wild red card challenge.
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