The Andoni Iraola era at Liverpool gets underway tonight at GEODIS Park in Nashville.
The Andoni Iraola era at Liverpool gets underway tonight at GEODIS Park in Nashville, and while the occasion carries obvious significance, the team sheet tells its own story about where the Reds currently stand.
Iraola has 31 players at his disposal for the trip, but the list of absentees is lengthy.
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Hugo Ekitike remains sidelined with an Achilles problem, Conor Bradley is still working back from a knee issue, and Giovanni Leoni continues his recovery from an ACL injury.
Iraola has confirmed none of the three are close to a return.
Wataru Endo and Stefan Bajcetic have travelled with the squad and are taking part in partial team training, but the head coach is expected to avoid any unnecessary risk with either at this stage of pre season.
Then there is the World Cup contingent.
Eight players remain on holiday following the tournament, including finalists Alexis Mac Allister and summer signing Victor Munoz, who helped Spain lift the trophy.
Alisson, Cody Gakpo, Virgil van Dijk, Alexander Isak, Ryan Gravenberch, and Florian Wirtz are also yet to link up with the group in the United States.
The one genuinely positive piece of team news concerns Jeremy Jacquet.
The Frenchman, signed from Rennes this summer, has recovered from shoulder surgery but will have to wait for his Liverpool debut.
Elsewhere, Dominik Szoboszlai starts on the bench having recently signed a new contract, while Curtis Jones features despite persistent links with a move away from Anfield.
Up front, the picture is far less certain.
Rio Ngumoha and Kieran Morrison are occupying the flanks, while Harvey Elliott gets an opportunity to stake a claim in the number ten role, a position that could prove crucial to his future under the new manager.
Given the conditions in Nashville, with temperatures around 28°C feeling closer to 37°C, Iraola is expected to use two entirely different elevens across the two halves, starting with the stronger side.
The lineup goes thus:
Mamardashvili; Frimpong, Jones, Gomez, Tsimikas; McConnell, Wright; Morrison, Elliott, Ngumoha; N’diaye
Kickoff is at 11pm BST, 5pm local time.
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