Liverpool will be hoping for their second win of pre-season when they travel to face Fleetwood Town on Wednesday night.
The Reds played their first match of the summer against Tranmere Rovers on Friday when Danny Ings’ goal was enough to earn a 1-0 win.
And Jurgen Klopp is likely to play a mixture of first-team players and youngsters once again whilst many international players remain on an extended break.
Phil Coutinho is in line to make an appearance after returning to training on Monday following Brazil’s disappointing showing at the Copa America.
Meanwhile, teenagers Ovie Ejaria, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dan Woodburn will hope to impress again in the aim of earning a spot on the side’s tour of the US.
Fleetwood Town – Who are they?
The Cod Army were playing in the ninth tier of English football as recently as ten years ago, but now find themselves cemented in the Football League thanks largely to £10m worth of investment from owner Andrew Pilley.
That cash injection allowed the club to turn professional with full-time players just weeks after winning the Conference North title, but the change of status proved worth it as they won promotion to the Football League within two seasons.
Life in League Two continued to reap success and after a respectable 13th placed finish in their first ever season in the Football League, the Lancashire side finished fourth at the second time of asking and won promotion to League One via the play-offs ahead of the 2014/15 season.
They finished 10th in their first season in the third tier, but won just two of their first ten games last season and Graham Alexander – perhaps harshly – was sacked by October.
He was replaced by current boss Steven Pressley, but the former Coventry City boss was unable to match the club’s position of the previous season as they finished as low as 19th, six points clear of relegation.
And it looks like The Fisherman have much work to do this summer to ensure an improved finish this time around, having already lost Shola Ameobi, goalkeeper Chris Maxwell and vice-captain Antoni Sarcevic this summer.
Any notable players?
Jimmy Ryan and last season’s top goalscorer Bobby Grant both have close ties with Liverpool having been born in the city, whilst the former won the FA Youth Cup with the Reds back in 2006 and 2007.
Right-back Conor McLaughlin is also the brother of former player, Ryan, whose five-year stay at Anfield came to an end this summer.
Devante Cole – the son of famous Manchester United striker Andy – signed for the club back in Feburary and scored twice in 14 outings last season.
Previous Meetings
Liverpool are yet to face Fleetwood in a competitive match since their reform in 1997, but the two sides did meet back in two league meetings back in 1892, just months after the Reds were formed as a club.
On those ocassions, the Merseysiders overcame Fleetwood Rangers 7-0 and 4-1 en route to sealing the Lancashire Senior League on goal difference.
More recently, Gerard Houllier’s Liverpool beat Fleetwood 6-1 in a friendly at Blackpool’s Bloomfield Road in 2003 with goals from El-Hadji Diouf, Milan Baros (2), Bruno Cheyrou, John Welsh and Anthony Le Tallec.
Squads
Fleetwood (from): Neal, Taylor, Cairns, McLaughlin, Jonsson, Pond, Bell, Ryan, Hornby-Forbes, Grant, Nirrenold, Wright, McManus, Sanogo, Deacon, Hunter, Ball, Haughton, Sowerby, Nilsson, Dunbar, Cole, Davis, Bolger, Eastham, Holloway, Nadesan
Liverpool (from): Karius, Bogdan, Lovren, Sakho, Moreno, Ilori, Matip, Flanagan, Smith, Wisdom, Randall, Coutinho, Grujic, Lucas, Brannagan, Stewart, Kent, Markovic, Ojo, Chirivella, Allan, Mane, Firmino, Ings
