Liverpool's pre-season is about to go up a gear, and it could be at just the right time.
The Reds face Austrian champions Red Bull Salzburg on Wednesday evening, towards the end of their always gruelling Austrian training camp.
Andy Robertson has described the week away in the Alps as a time that none of the squad look forward to, as between the serene bike rides, fishing trips and karaoke come the hardest training sessions that the players face all year.
But Jurgen Klopp knows that he needs his side to be in top shape for a clash against a club Liverpool know well, having faced them in the Champions League in the recent past and also having monitored the Red Bull group for potential signings.
“[A] tough one [on Wednesday],” Klopp told the Reds website.
“The season in Austria started already so they are obviously at a completely different stage to us. We will feel that."
For Liverpool the clash represents the final friendly before the slightly more competitive edge against Manchester City in Saturday's Community Shield, and then a Sunday Anfield game against Strasbourg which will act as a curtain-raiser to their campaign.
Last Thursday's 5-0 win over RB Leipzig - and four goals from Darwin Nunez - served to show that the Reds were tuning up, but they are still without some important players.
“We need to have a look and we will play the game. It’s pre-season so we have to get through it and then we have to deal with it," Klopp continued.
“Obviously Diogo [Jota] is not here, that’s clear, but from the boys who are injured but are here, Ali is the closest – definitely not for Salzburg but then we will see. He is close to get back I think."
The presence of No.1 goalkeeper Alisson will be important for the City game at Leicester, with the Reds hoping that a slightly more active pre-season could see them get the run on their rivals. Wednesday will be Liverpool's fourth game of pre-season, while City will head to the King Power only played two, including a weather-affected clash against Bayern Munich.
Klopp is confident that his side have been able to adapt to the different nature of this pre-season, and hopes to see the Salzburg clash move them up a gear.
“This pre-season we had to do slightly different and we wanted to do as well," he said.
"All of them (the players) will play the first time 90 minutes on Saturday, all of them. But that’s how we did the training.
“So the training sessions were intense to a specific point, that we could get fitter and fitter. The running sessions were extremely hard but we took care of them and now let’s see how we can grow in this season.
“For City, it’s not really different, they came back from America probably yesterday or something like that. So it will be a tough one.”
