A Guide to the Liverpool F.C Pre-season Tour

The Mighty Reds will be in action in the United Kingdom, USA and Ireland this summer

Liverpool’s pre-season kicks off on 7 July 2018, in the United Kingdom with a series of local friendlies which has become somewhat of a tradition under Jürgen Klopp’s management. The Reds will be once again betravelling to Prenton Park to face Tranmere Rovers. This will be the third successive trip there. Matches have also been scheduled against Chester FC, Bury and Blackburn Rovers.

Liverpool returns to the International Champions Cup, an international tournament which includes leagues from different franchises in a series of matches, which will take place in the United States this year. Our U.S. Liverpool family will have three opportunities to see the Mighty Reds in action, when they play in North Carolina, New Jersey and Michigan. The first of Liverpool’s three scheduled matches is on July 22 vs. Borussia Dortmund at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.

During a chat on the Sports with Friends podcast, Liverpool CEO, Peter Moore had this to say about our USA support base:

The United States or North America as a whole has been and will continue to be a major market for us. We’re a club that has several hundred million fans around the world. But if you listen to some third-party research, as many as 771 million fans have put their hands up and said, ‘I follow Liverpool Football Club.’ Our ability to be able to engage with those fans is tantamount to our success, to be blunt.

When asked about the International Champions Cup, Moore said:

It’s an actual tournament. It’s not exhibitions. These are not friendlies, I can tell you. When, for example, in Ann Arbor Liverpool plays Manchester United, it cannot be deemed as a ‘friendly.’ It will be a highly contested game. That particular game, our World Cup players from both sides will all be back, and they’ll be looking to fight for their places here. That particular game, it will be I think a phenomenal spectacle. My hope and belief is that the Big House sells out and the fans get to see a very competitive game of football there.

We play Man City here in New York, and we’re excited about that. You know, Manchester City, the Premier League champions, and had a phenomenal season, playing great football under their manager, Pep Guardiola, but not only did we beat them, we beat them three times in competitions in the Champions League, so that rivalry is hotly contested. We play in Charlotte at the opening of the tour against Borussia Dortmund. The linkage there is that our current manager, Jürgen Klopp, also used to manage Borussia Dortmund. So strong bond between those two teams.

Globalization may be important for Liverpool FC but Peter Moore insists that the Liverpool support base at home remains first and foremost in the heart of the club;

We realize we’re very much a local club, and it’s a very important part of the City of Liverpool. It’s what, for a lot of people, is something that is a great salvation for some tough working conditions at times in our great city. And so, it’s with great pride that we’re able to cast a global footprint by the tours that we’ve got here (in the ICC).

Following Liverpool’s successful trip to the Republic of Ireland last July, the Reds return to the Aviva Stadium in Dublin for the last segment of their tour to take on Napoli on 4 August 2018. Finally, the Reds host their first pre-season friendly at Anfield in four years when they take on Serie A side, Torino for the first time 7 August 2018.

The Premier League returns on Saturday, 11 August 2018.

UK Friendlies

Liverpool v Chester FC – Saturday July 7, 3PM GMT/10AM EST
Liverpool v Tranmere Rovers – Wednesday July 11, 7:30PM GMT/2:30PM EST
Liverpool v Bury – Saturday July 14, 3PM GMT/10AM EST
Liverpool v Blackburn Rovers – Thursday July 19, 7:45PM GMT/2:45PM EST

International Champions Cup

Liverpool v Borussia Dortmund – Sunday July 22, 9:05PM GMT/4:05PM EST at the Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina
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Liverpool v Manchester City - Thursday July 26, 1:05AM GMT/8PM EST at the MetLife Stadium, New Jersey
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Liverpool v Manchester United – Saturday July 28, 10:05PM GMT/5:05PM EST at the Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Michigan
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Dublin

Liverpool v Napoli – Saturday August 4, 6PM GMT/1PM EST at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland
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Liverpool

Liverpool v Torino – Tuesday August 7, 7:30PM GMT/2:30PM EST at Anfield, Liverpool
Ticket information for Liverpool vs Torino

Up the Mighty Reds!

Source: liverpooloffside.sbnation.com