Liverpool extend pre-season with peculiar friendly…

Liverpool extend pre-season with peculiar friendly date as Jurgen Klopp makes 'no time' claim

Liverpool will play a behind-closed-doors friendly on Sunday August 7 - barely 24 hours after their Premier League season begins away at Fulham.

The Reds have organised the game in an effort to get some of their fringe players up to speed for the new campaign, which begins earlier than usual because of the winter World Cup in Qatar across November and December.

It is understood Liverpool will take on Aston Villa in a private match at Anfield with both managers keen to bring up the match fitness of several who are unlikely to feature in either of the clubs' opening games the day before.

Villa travel to Bournemouth for a 3pm kick-off on August 6 but will have a contingent on Merseyside for the friendly the following day as both Steven Gerrard and Jurgen Klopp feel it necessary to extend the pre-season schedule into the campaign itself.

Speaking ahead of Saturday's Community Shield with Manchester City at the King Power Stadium, Klopp said: "The good thing is we don’t have to think too far ahead. I like the [Community Shield] but I think it would be possible to find another date.

"We had a longer season than other teams and now we have a shorter pre-season. So it doesn't make too much sense. In Germany, they play the Super Cup and the teams involved don't have to play the first cup round, there are opportunities that we can maybe think about, but we have to find a way and that is what we try. That is what we have been working together on. In two days the season starts again and I'm really looking forward to it.

"The situation is that it is a very important game and we still have to prepare for a full season. We cannot ignore that. We played yesterday against Salzburg and lost 1-0, the day before we had two training sessions and so they were very intense. That is what we have to do, I cannot ignore the fact that after this important game (the Community Shield) there is a season coming up.

"We have to extend our pre-season into our season. We play on Saturday against Man City and then in a test game or whatever, against Strasbourg on Sunday. Then we play Fulham and then the next day we play another friendly. And it's just so we can extend our pre-season, that is what we have to do.

"In mid-August you play every three days so there is no time for training any more. We try to do the right things but the schedule is always a challenge. It's not the first time it is like this.

"The game on Saturday, will it show a lot about the season? I expect two good teams. I saw us in a really good shape last night, even though we lost. I hope we can bring that on the pitch. Of course it is a challenge to do that, I am not sure how the weather will be but it can be hot as well, so it all comes together. We will see, but if you win it it is a very important competition and if you lose it it becomes less important."

Liverpool have so far played in four pre-season friendlies to mixed results. Having kicked off with a 4-0 defeat to Manchester United in Thailand, the Reds then beat Crystal Palace in Singapore 2-0 before putting five past RB Leipzig last week at the Red Bull Arena in Germany.

On Wednesday, the Reds continued with a loss to Red Bull Salzburg in Austria and will meet Ligue 1 side Strasbourg in the final pre-season warm-up at Anfield on Sunday evening after their clash with City on Saturday.

Friendlies on successive days is nothing new under Klopp. In 2016, the Reds beat Barcelona 4-0 at Wembley before a defeat to Mainz the following day in Germany by the same scoreline, while last summer saw the club host back-to-back games with Osasuna and Athletic as Anfield re-opened its doors to fans.

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