Liverpool face Napoli on Saturday as they wind down their pre-season, with Alisson set to make his debut.
The game kicks off at 18:00 and is hosted at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin with a spectator capacity of 51,700, in what is expected to be a sell-out crowd dominated by Reds supporters.
This is Liverpool’s penultimate fixture in a pre-season that has offered great encouragement, most recently burying Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United by four goals to one in their final fixture of the International Champions Cup.
Liverpool last faced Napoli in 2010 where the Reds came out 3-1 winners in a Europa League tie. However, the Italian outfit have since progressed to greater heights, pushing Juventus all the way domestically while playing some of the world’s most attractive football.
Team news
Brazilian duo Roberto Firmino and new record signing Alisson Becker joined the rest of the squad in France where Liverpool players endured an intense training camp and are poised to feature at some point with the latter confirmed by Jurgen Klopp.
Likewise, Trent Alexander-Arnold, who Klopp has allowed to return to training a week earlier than expected.
Nathaniel Clyne is back in contention after returning to training following the birth of his child, with Naby Keita and Gini Wijnaldum recovering from minor injuries that forced them out of the last game.
Salah and Mane to fire again
Forwards Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane will be looking to get further pre-season minutes under their belt, alongside fellow first teamers Virgil van Dijk and Andy Robertson.
New signing Xherdan Shaqiri, who arrived for £13 million, is also likely to feature after a mesmerising debut against Manchester United.
Divock Origi’s involvement is doubtful as a move to Valencia edges closer, and £20-million-rated Crystal Palace target Danny Ings is also not expected to feature as he also nears an Anfield exit.
The opposition
Since the loss of new Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri, Napoli have acquired the services of elite manager Carlo Ancellotti who will be looking to enforce his fresh ideas in the upcoming friendlies.
Napoli are yet to face a non-Italian side this pre-season beating Gozzano, Carpi and Chievo comfortably and Liverpool will be their first real test as they approach more challenging fixtures against Borussia Dortmund and Wolfsburg.
The Italian outfit will be without former Liverpool target Piotr Zielinksi. The 24-year-old midfielder suffered a sprained ankle in training last week. Young ‘keeper Alex Meret is a long-term absentee, alongside winger Amin Younes.
27-year-old full-back Faouzi Ghoulam had a knee operation last month and will also not be involved.
Belgian forward Dries Mertens has not yet returned to training after helping his national team clinch third place in the World Cup.
Napoli will certainly still pose a challenge towards Klopp's Reds with the likes of Lorenzo Insigne, Marek Hamsik and Senegalese defender Kalidou Koulibaly all expected to feature.