Liverpool will play host to Bundesliga newcomers SV Darmstadt in their final pre-season friendly - but the game will not be played at Anfield.
Jurgen Klopp's side are set to face the German side on Monday, August 7, six days before their opening Premier League fixture against Chelsea. However, the match will instead be played at Preston's Deepdale as the ambitious new Anfield Road Stand expansion is finalised.
The stand, which is expected take the overall capacity at Anfield to 61,000, will be ready for Liverpool's first home game of the season against Bournemouth on August 19. But the clash against Darmstadt proved a little too soon and Liverpool have decided to play at Preston's home ground.
Deepdale has been a happy hunting ground for the Reds in the past, with Klopp's men most recently winning there 2-0 in a Carabao Cup round of 16 tie back in October 2021. In fact, the Reds are unbeaten in their last four trips to Preston, although they will act as the home team this time around.
They will host a Darmstadt side that won promotion back to Germany's top tier after coming up from Bundesliga 2. Torsten Lieberknecht's men finished second, level on points with champions Heidenheim as they booked their return to the Bundesliga.
As for Liverpool, they will be hoping to improve on last season's fifth place finish and have already acted by making some impressive signings in the transfer window. Alexis Mac Allister made the big-money switch from Brighton, before Dominik Szoboszlai joined for £60m from RB Leipzig.
Speaking after confirming the arrival of Szoboszlai, Klopp recalled coming up against him when he played for Salzburg in the 2019-20 season
He said: "I'm pretty sure he was still a teenager at that time and since then he has made some big strides – moving to Leipzig, doing really, really well in the Bundesliga, playing for the Hungary national team and then becoming captain of his national team at an incredibly young age.
"These are proper positives and this is even before we even think about his qualities as a footballer. I will not say too much about them at this stage except they are definitely the kind which will hopefully bring a lot of enjoyment and also help us to get results.
"There is no pressure, though. Dominik is still a very young player. He has so much development ahead of him and this means it makes sense for us all to be patient and to give him the time and space to allow his talent to come through within our team."
Klopp's side will also face Karlsruher, Furth, Leicester and Bayern in pre-season as they get set for their first competitive game on August 13.
