Chelsea and Liverpool begin their tour of the United States on Wednesday evening (Thursday morning in the UK) with a meeting at the world famous Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
Both sides have started pre-season already, with Chelsea playing twice in Austria while Liverpool faced four English teams from the lower divisions.
Team News
Chelsea: Antonio Conte continues to put his side through rigorous training ahead of the new season, something they lacked in last summer's American tour. The Blues preparation for the upcoming campaign is an improvement on last year, which will come as a relief to the supporters. Their two matches in Austria were split as they lost one and won one.
There are no injury concerns for the Blues heading into their first game of the US tour. New signing Michy Batshuayi is expected to feature heavily after joining the team late in Austria. Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtois returned to the squad from their holiday while the Spanish contigent of Cesc Fabregas, Cesar Azpilicueta and Pedro will likely face Liverpool on Wednesday. N'Golo Kante is yet to join up with the Blues since signing from Leicester City this summer.
Projected XI: Begovic; Aina, Terry, Djilobodji, Azpilicueta; Fabregas, Matic; Cuadrado, Diego Costa, Traore, Moses.
Liverpool: The Reds spent the beginning of preseason in England, winning all four of their fixtures against lower league sides throughout the country. Jurgen Klopp's first full season in charge at Liverpool has high expectations and a preseason win over rivals will be a nice touch heading into the season.
Newest signing Georginio Wijnaldum joined the squad recently as he prepares to make his debut for the club while centre-back Mamadou Sakho has been sent home by Jurgen Klopp after becoming a distraction due to battling injury worries.
Projected XI: Karius; Clyne, Lovren, Klavan, Moreno; Grujic, Henderson; Coutinho, Firmino, Ings, Mane.
Background
These two sides are no strangers to one another and while it may be just a friendly on Wednesday night, there remains plenty of bad blood between them.
Liverpool took four points off Chelsea last season, beating them 3-1 at Stamford Bridge before equalising late on to snatch a 1-1 draw at Anfield.
Chelsea haven't beaten Liverpool in their last five meetings but have lost just once.
Six of the last ten matches between the two clubs have ended in draws. Chelsea have won three of those ten and Liverpool managed the lone victory last season.
Players to Watch:
Chelsea: Ola Aina: The defender's future was in doubt heading into the summer but after signing a new deal, Aina has enjoyed a strong start to preseason under Conte. The new manager has had plenty of praise for the youngster and with questions surrounding Chelsea's backline, Aina may just seize his opportunity and break into the first team rotation.
Liverpool: Georginio Wijnaldum: The attacker arrived from Newcastle this summer and may see his first action as soon as Wednesday. The Dutchman was impressive with PSV and while he struggled at times with Newcastle, he did show his quality often. Liverpool have a handful of players in a similar role to Wijnaldum and he'll need to prove himself early.