Premier League giants Manchester United and Liverpool will clash in Thailand as the Premier League giants jet off on a pre-season tour Down Under.
The Red Devils are also set to clash with Crystal Palace at the 100,000-capacity Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Although many will associate Thai patronage of the Premier League with King Power and Leicester City, a collective consciousness for Manchester United and Liverpool has been of significantly longer standing.
Liverpool are particularly popular among Thai football fans and there are over 38 million followers of the Anfield outfit’s official Thai language Facebook page.
The clash of the two Premier League giants at the Rajamangala National Stadium in Bangkok has been dubbed the "Red War" by Thai media and will take place on July 12.
Contrary to the two big clubs in Scottish football, the fans of two English football giants appear to have less animosity about the idea of taking on each other in “friendly” competition. However former Old Trafford striker, Andy Cole acknowledged things may be a little different.
Cole remarked: “I'm not sure it will be played like a pre-season friendly. It will be the same players as you see now with a few additions if transfer deals happen."
The trip will be Liverpool’s first venture to the Far East since 2017 and they visited this stadium previously during Brendan Rodgers tenure in 2015.
Tickets are far from cheap for the locals with prices ranging from 5000 THB (£114) upwards but senior officials from the two clubs have already visited Bangkok to check the facilities at the 51,000-seater arena.
Vinij Lertratanachai, chief executive officer of Fresh Air Festival, which is organising the match, said the stadium would get a "makeover" to meet the clubs' standards.
Organisers hope to recreate an English matchday atmosphere on Thai soil, though with likely temperatures in the low 30°C and humidity around 70%, that may be somewhat easier said than done.
Manchester City are presently in talks to participate in a pre-season tour out in the USA with reports suggesting they may take on Bayern Munich at the Green Bay Packers stadium (Lambeau Field) in Wisconsin while Arsenal are also rumoured to be heading West for their pre-season planning.
