Arne Slot should have a squad of 27 players at his disposal for Liverpool’s first pre-season friendly against Real Betis. Despite several absentees, Slot is expected to field a strong starting XI.
Liverpool’s squad for their United States tour is somewhat depleted, with 10 players still to rejoin training and two others unavailable. Diogo Jota, who only joined the team in Pittsburgh on Thursday, will miss the match against Real Betis. Andy Robertson is also sidelined with a minor injury.
Ibrahima Konate and Ryan Gravenberch are set to join the tour later, while Alisson, Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joe Gomez, Alexis Mac Allister, Cody Gakpo, Darwin Nunez, and Luis Diaz will return to training only after Liverpool return to Merseyside.
Even without these key players, Slot can still field a strong lineup at Acrisure Stadium. Based on a recent behind-closed-doors friendly against Preston, Vitezslav Jaros is expected to start in goal, with a back four comprising Conor Bradley, Jarell Quansah, Sepp van den Berg, and Kostas Tsimikas.
Caoimhin Kelleher has missed several pre-season sessions, and his fitness status is uncertain. Dominik Szoboszlai, now back to full fitness, could start in midfield alongside Wataru Endo and Curtis Jones.
In attack, Mohamed Salah is likely to start on the right wing, with Harvey Elliott on the left. Fabio Carvalho might play as a center-forward, filling in due to the absence of natural strikers, as Jota is still undergoing fitness tests.
Slot is expected to make numerous substitutions during the match, similar to the 1-0 defeat against Preston. Players like Stefan Bajcetic, Tyler Morton, Luke Chambers, Ben Doak, Nat Phillips, Lewis Koumas, and Kaide Gordon are expected to get significant playing time, even if they don’t start.
Predicted Liverpool XI vs. Real Betis: Jaros; Bradley, Quansah, Van den Berg, Tsimikas; Endo, Jones, Szoboszlai; Salah, Elliott, Carvalho.
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